Kelly: Peter Figoski a model for new cops

On a day of fulfillment and celebration, NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly urged more than 1,500 new police officers to look at the life and work of slain Det. Peter Figoski as a guide to being a better cop.

Kelly said that Figoski, a West Babylon resident who was killed in the line of duty during an attempted robbery in Brooklyn Dec. 12, helped drive down crime by 90 percent in Brooklyn's 75th Precinct.

"This incredible accomplishment is part of Detective Figoski's legacy," Kelly said. "Wherever you are assigned, you can honor his life by building on this legacy and the focused, dedicated spirit in which it was achieved."

The graduation ceremony was held inside Madison Square Garden, which was crowded with the new officers and their friends and relatives.

The latest class of officers is the largest to graduate since 2005. The 1,519 graduates finished a tough six-month training program. Some 265 new officers are foreign born and come from 57 countries: Pakistan is the birthplace of 14, while 38 come from the Dominican Republic. NYPD strength is now at about 34,700 officers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke briefly, wishing the graduates good luck: "May God bless and protect each of you, and may God continue to bless the NYPD."

One graduate, Donald L. Daal, 25, of West Hempstead, represents the third generation of his family be an NYPD officer. The family connection started with his grandparents, Herbert Daal and Edna Turner, and continued with his father, Det. Donald Daal Sr., and his mother, Robin, who was one of the only women in the highway patrol unit. An uncle, Deputy Insp. Corey Pegues, is commander of the 67th Precinct in Brooklyn.

"For me it is a very honorable thing," Daal said after the ceremony. "I always wanted to be a police officer."

After his father died in 1993, Daal said, his mother worked and put him and a sister through college, keeping him focused on being a police officer. In fact, Daal said he was given his mother's old shield number: 2882.

"I definitely look upon my mom as my hero," Daal said.

Like other rookies, Daal said the death of Figoski felt like the loss of a brother. Daal also said he feels for Figoski's four daughters because he knows what it is like to lose a father.

"They should always remember their father did everything in their best interest. . . . It shows how truly unselfish he was," said Daal, who Thursday also received the New York City Police Foundation Award for exceptional community service.

Another new officer, Robert Adams, 25, of Staten Island, said what he learned about Figoski's dedication convinced him he made the right decision to join the NYPD.

"It showed how good a cop he was," Adams said, "how much a hero he was."