Lt. Michael P. Murphy Park in Lake Ronkonkoma vandalized by masked men, cops say

Lake Ronkonkoma’s Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Park, where the slain Navy SEAL once protected swimmers as a town lifeguard before he died in Afghanistan, has been vandalized for the second time.

On Sept. 2 around 8:40 p.m., video footage captured three males vandalizing the park, located on the southeast shore of Lake Ronkonkoma, with graffiti on the building and spray painting a security camera, according to a news release from Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico and Councilman Neil Foley.

In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, Panico said the vandals "defaced" the park’s bathroom with "vulgar" language images, which town workers photographed and then painted over "because parents, children, families like to utilize our parks," he added.

Murphy, 29, a Navy SEAL from Patchogue, was one of many killed while leading Operation Red Wings, a mission to find a Taliban-aligned terrorist leader in the Hindu Kush mountains near the Pakistan border on June 28, 2005. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

The memorial was dedicated to him on what would have been his 30th birthday, May 7, 2006.

Daniel Murphy, the SEAL’s father, said he is "happy it was not the monuments" that were vandalized. The park features a circular granite stone, adorned with Michael Murphy’s picture and Medal of Honor citation, that was shattered in 2018. A 14-year-old was later arrested for the vandalism, police said. The memorial was rededicated in January 2019 and surveillance cameras were installed.

"In this day and age when we’re so split as a country, there’s no respect for our uniformed services, our military, our fallen heroes," Daniel Murphy said.

Panico expressed hope that those who vandalized the park this time will be arrested. They were wearing "very distinctive clothing," and "we have former detectives that work for the Town of Brookhaven that take up cases like this," he said. 

Officials said the three vandals on video appear to be in their late teens or early 20s, and drove a dark sedan, an unknown make and model.

Anyone with information can anonymously call the Suffolk County Police Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS (8477).