His murder was “one of the catalysts for change.”
In the early-morning hours of February 26, in the midst of a snowstorm, 150 people, including a wall of blue, gathered at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the death of Police Officer Edward Byrne.
Byrne, only 22 years old and newly assigned to the 103rd Precinct, was fatally shot in the head at 3:30 a.m. on February 26, 1988. He had been guarding the home of a drug case witness.
“The city was in the midst of a drug war,” said Patrick Henry, Queens South Trustee, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA). “In those days, homicides in the 103 were at an all-time high.”
Byrne was unmarried and left behind his father, Matthew; mother, Ann and three brothers. A year after the murder, four men were convicted and sentenced to the maximum sentences of 25 years to life for the crime.
The incident galvanized the city.
“It was a dramatic moment in the city and probably changed policing forever,” said Henry, who told The Courier that because of Byrne’s death, a Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT) was created, as well as the Street Narcotics Unit (SNU). “It started with a few sector cars and got bigger and bigger.”
In the years following his death, the 103rd Precinct was renamed in Byrne’s honor, as was 91st Avenue in front of the station house.
In 1988, then Borough President Claire Shulman allocated $1.7 million to construct the Police Officer Edward Byrne Park in Ozone Park. It officially opened on August 3, 1995.
“It’s very sad, but it’s nice what they do to honor his memory,” said Joseph Iaboni, President of the Jamaica Rotary.
