Streets renamed to honor 50 Nassau police officers who have died in line of duty

Nassau County has named 50 streets after county police officers who died in the line of duty over the department’s past century of service.

The Nassau County Police Department celebrated the occasion in a Sunday memorial where government officials presented about 30 families of the fallen officers with ceremonial street signs.

“We realized that in the early days, they never named streets after” people, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said, highlighting the decades of service from Nassau officers. “We said, we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s honored.”

Among the officers remembered was Det. Kathleen Reilly, the first woman to serve in the department. She died in 1967 after serving for just a year when she was struck by a vehicle while helping a motorist.

Her niece Patty Jones, 73, of Huntington, was among the relatives who accepted the ceremonial street sign on her behalf. Jones was 16 years old when her aunt died, she recalled.

Reilly was engaged and in her 20s when she died on Christmas Eve, Jones said.

Her family was “very proud of her,” Jones said, and Sunday’s ceremony was “beautiful.”

“I wish her siblings had lived to see these occasions,” Jones said, noting just two of nine remain.

Emma Perlungher, 22, of Wantagh, also accepted a street sign on Sunday. She was at the ceremony to honor her dad, Matthew Perlungher, who served with the Nassau police for 24 years.

“My dad has always been my biggest inspiration and somebody who I’ve always looked up to and admired,” said Perlungher, who is set to be in the next police academy class so she can follow in her father’s footsteps and become a police officer.

“Being part of this process and this department” has been an “integral part of my healing journey and growth after his loss,” she added. “When the department says they never forget, they truly do mean that.”

It helped her feel less alone to have “a family of blue brothers and sisters” that she “couldn’t imagine” her life without, Perlungher said.

Her father is among the 14 officers from the department who died from 9/11 or 9/11-related illnesses.

“In 100 years, we’ve only lost 50 and we’ve lost 14 to 9/11. Unfortunately, I still have sick members,” Ryder said. “People don’t realize the sacrifice that was made on that day.”

“We promise to never forget,” he added.

Sunday’s ceremony was part of a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Nassau County Police Department.

The Nassau County Police Department Foundation is also planning a gala in April to celebrate the department’s centennial and the opening of a new training village.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.