Nassau County Police Department honors fallen officers

Nassau Lt. William Krupa always put family first.

The 28-year police department veteran told other officers to make sure they were present for their children’s important moments. As a father of four and a grandfather to four more, “he didn’t miss anything,” said his daughter, Kim Krupa, 41, of Massapequa.

William Krupa died in February 2023 from leukemia related to his work at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

“One of the hardest things is now he’s missing all these events,” Kim Krupa said.

“Although,” said his wife of 45 years, Kathy Krupa, 73, “I always say, he has the best seat in the house.”

The Nassau County Police Department on Wednesday added a bronze plaque to its memorial wall honoring Krupa as part of an annual ceremony honoring fallen officers. His name joins 49 others who have died in the line of duty since 1925.

The solemn procession drew hundreds of police officers and elected officials, along with the family members of fallen officers at department headquarters in Mineola. The Emerald Society Pipe Band performed "Amazing Grace" as two department helicopters flew overhead, their shadows passing across the memorial lawn. Small flags lined the walkway leading to concrete slabs containing the 50 bronze plaques. Floral arrangements were framed around them. 

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who spoke at the memorial, said the members of the department being honored, including dozens of retirees who died within the past year, “are truly heroes and will always and forever be in our hearts.”

The ceremony serves as a way to connect families who have endured tragedy, like the family of Officer Joseph Stassi, who died by suicide last year at age 49.

“It’s really helpful to be able to talk to somebody that’s going through the same thing and actually understands,” said his wife, Nicole Stassi, 53, of Oakdale.

Stassi said that by returning to the memorial annually, she’s able to help keep her husband’s memory alive — for herself and their sons, Steven and Jake.

“I like people to remember him, and we miss him terribly,” Stassi said.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the names of the officers on the wall — who died at ages ranging from 22 to 65 — “all have one thing in common: They are heroes."

Ryder said their living relatives are left to carry on their legacies.

“Along with that open oath to defend the Constitution, we also took a silent oath, one where we promise to look out for one another and stand by the families,” Ryder said. “The best way we can honor our fallen, and keep those spirits and sacrifices alive and with us forever, is to keep that oath.”

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ