Some 100 people gathered in South Jamaica, Queens early Sunday to mark the 29th anniversary of the ambush murder of hero NYPD officer Edward “Eddie” Byrne.
The gathering included Police Commissioner James O’Neill, former Commissioner William Bratton and Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association boss Patrick Lynch.
The memorial is held each year at the corner of Inwood Street and 107th Avenue, where in the early morning of February 26, 1988, Byrne, 22, was shot in the head as he sat in a patrol car guarding the home of a police witness.
The four conspirators in the murder were quickly caught and eventually convicted.
“This is a tradition,” said one participant, Officer Gerardo Perrone.
“Since I was young I knew this is what being an officer is all about,” he told The Post.
“Everyday when we wake up, we say goodbye to our families knowing that it could be the last time. That’s the sacrifice,” he
said.
“And Eddie’s sacrifice serves as an important reminder to us that it could happen to anyone.”
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