In Memory of Detective Brian Charles Mulkeen
On Sunday, September 29, 2019, New York residents received the news that a New York officer had been killed. Detective First Grade Brian Mulkeen, badge number 6981, was shot and killed in a terrible accident. Detective Mulkeen was 33 years old.
Detective Brian Mulkeen and his team were on assignment. Their duty was to patrol the Edenwald Houses in the Bronx, undercover or plain clothes. Officers had been assigned the specific task to be present in the area to observe and deter gang activity. But, unfortunately, there had also been a recent shooting in the area.
The officers noticed a male behaving suspiciously near the rear of one of the apartment buildings. Three of the officers exited their patrol vehicles to talk to the man; however, he fled. A foot chase ensued. Detective Mulkeen finally caught the man and attempted to make an arrest.
The male subject attacked Detective Mulkeen, and a struggle began. The violent battle was for the control of a firearm Mulkeen had found in possession of the suspect. During the battle, the gun fired five times. The other officers on the scene reacted to the sound of gunshots and fired at the suspect. Inadvertently, Mulkeen was hit with friendly fire.
EMTs came to the assistance of the incident and drove Mulkeen to the Jacobi Medical Center. There, as doctors attempted to save him, Mulkeen died from his injuries. The shooting, an accident, is a tragedy for the Mulkeen family and the NYPD. It is also devastating to the officers who now stress having harmed a friend and coworker.
Detective Brian Mulkeen has served his community as a sworn officer with the New York City Police Department for over six years. His most recent assignment was with the Patrol Borough Bronx Anti-Crime Unit. To honor his sacrifice, NYPD posthumously promoted Mulkeen to the rank of Detective First Grade.
New York City Police Department, New York
Detective Mulkeen was a sworn officer with the New York City Police Department. NYPD is the primary law enforcement for the city of New York. Initiated in 1845, NYPD is one of the largest and oldest law enforcement agencies in the US.
The NYPD headquarters for “New York’s Finest” is located in lower Manhattan, not far from City Hall. All regulations for the NYPD can be found under title 38 in New York’s city regulations. Due to the size of the city, the agency includes many departments and districts under its management. This would include the NYC Housing Authority Police Department and the NYC Transit Police.
Officers throughout their careers work in various units of the NYPD and are often cross-trained for multiple specialties. These include the Emergency Service Unit, K9, harbor patrol, air support, bomb squad, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-organized crime, narcotics, public transportation, and public housing units.
Remembrances
Detective First Grade Brian Charles Mulkeen leaves behind his parents and siblings. As the Mulkeen family mourns the loss of their loved one, residents and loved ones will hold them in their thoughts and prayers. The NYPD Honor Guard and other local service providers helped the Mulkeen family with arrangements and ceremonies.
NYPD Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill spoke at Mulkeen’s funeral service. Then, in the very early hours of last Sunday, the NYPD sent Officer Brian Mulkeen out to do a job. “It’s a job that he had already done exceptionally well for seven years: battling against the flood of illegal firearms and violent gang activity that plagues too many of our neighborhoods. It’s a stressful, hazardous – and, unfortunately, many times thankless – job. One that not many people are able or willing to do. But, thankfully for the people of the Bronx, Brian was willing. And he was great at it. As a Borough Anti-Crime cop, it was Brian’s job to get illegal guns off the street. It was his job to pursue the most violent, most dangerous criminals in New York City, to put his safety on the line each and every day and, ultimately, to make all the people in the Bronx safer.”
O’Neill continued. “It takes a tremendous amount of courage and skill to do the work Brian and his team were so adept at doing – the type of courage that you really don’t expect people to possess, much less display every single day and night. Brian set the example for you and for all of us. Our job now is to follow it as best we can.”
