Cops from Long Island among latest names on NY memorial
The name of NYPD Det. Anastasios Tsakos, of East Northport, who was struck and killed in 2021 on the LIE in Queens, was added Tuesday to the New York State Police Officers Memorial in Albany Credit: NYPD
The names of three police officers from Long Island, along with 46 others statewide who also died in the line of duty, were added Tuesday to the New York State Police Officers Memorial in Albany.
NYPD Det. Anastasios Tsakos, 43, of East Northport, was struck and killed on April 27, 2021, after a vehicle driven by an alleged drunken driver hit him on the Long Island Expressway, near Exit 26 in Queens, as he diverted traffic from an earlier crash.
Sands Point police Sgt. Joseph Spinosa, 52, of Hicksville, and Suffolk County police Lt. Robert Van Zeyl, 60, who worked out of Suffolk’s Second Precinct in the Town of Huntington, both died of COVID-19.
Sands Point Police Sgt. Joseph Spinosa died after contracting COVID-19. His name is now on the police memorial wall in Albany. Credit: Sands Point Police Department
Those officers, as well as fallen NYPD cops, state troopers and other law enforcement added to the memorial, are 44 men and five women who died in the line of duty, including from 9/11-related illnesses at Ground Zero following attacks on the World Trade Center.
National Police Week begins Sunday nationwide and continues through May 21. The week pays tribute to active law enforcement officers as well as those who died in the line of duty.
Suffolk County police Lt. Robert Van Zeyl, his name now part of the memorial, also died last year of COVID-19. Credit: SCPD
Gov. Kathy Hochul directed that state buildings be illuminated Tuesday night in honor of fallen cops.
"Every day, law enforcement officers across the state selflessly put their lives on the line to protect the public, and today we honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep New Yorkers safe," Hochul said in a news release.
"We remember their courage, bravery and dedication to public service," she said, "and we thank and honor their loved ones, who have endured tremendous loss.”
Names on the memorial include state Trooper Joseph Gallagher of East Northport. Gallagher, 38, died on March 26, 2021, three years after he was struck by a vehicle on Dec. 18, 2017, while helping a disabled motorist on a Sagtikos Parkway overpass in Commack. Gallagher suffered a traumatic brain injury.
“The legacies and family members of these fallen officers will never be forgotten," Hochul said.
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