Crime & Safety

Fallen Nassau Officers Lopez, Oliveri Honored at Police Memorial

Bronzed names of fallen officers added to memorial rock.

The names of two Nassau County Police Officers who had both fallen in the line of duty were added to a memorial roll Wednesday afternoon at police headquarters in Mineola during a solemn ceremony.

Officers Joseph P. Oliveri and Arthur Lopez were killed five days apart in October 2012, Oliveri being struck on the Long Island Expressway and Lopez being shot while attempting to arrest a suspect wanted for a hit-and-run near Belmont Park.

“Both of the officers that we are memorializing today that made the supreme sacrifice exhibited valor every day they were in uniform,” Nassau Executive Ed Mangano said. 

“We acknowledge that our loss does not compare with their loss,” department chaplain Fr. Joseph J. D’Angelo said of the families of the two fallen officers n his invocation. “We pray that God will comfort all who grieve in their families.”

The Nassau County Police Memorial, which was first dedicated on May 12, 1982, features a massive stone monolith that displays two Bronze plaques, one dedicated to all deceased members of the department and the other listing the now 34 names of the officers who died in the line of duty.

“As you have seen an experienced since those dark days in October, you will always be surrounded by a sea of blue,” police commissioner Thomas Dale said to the families. “You have seen the over 2,200 sworn members of the Nassau County Police Department that we are a tight-knit family; you have become part of that family and we have become part of your family. I promise that we will always be there for you as Joseph and Arthur were there for the citizens of Nassau County and their fellow officers.”

The event featured a placement of floral tributes for all 32 NCPD members who made the supreme sacrifice.

“Joseph Oliveri and Arthur Lopez will never be forgotten will never be forgotten within the walls of the Nassau County Police Department,” Dale said. “Within our ranks, their lives and their memories will be honored, cherished and remembered forever and ever.”


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