Hempstead Village honors its cops at start of National Police Week

Hempstead Village kicked off its celebration of National Police Week Monday by lauding cops for putting "their lives on the line," most recently, in pursuit of the man accused of fatally shooting a Stop & Shop manager.

Village Police Chief Paul Johnson said the suspect's arrest in Hempstead — hours after the shooting last month at the West Hempstead supermarket — was an example of the type of painstaking investigations, and often dangerous related work, that his police officers have faced.

"Particularly in the last year," Johnson said, "many of our officers have been involved in major incidents where they have placed their lives on the line."

Despite the risks, Johnson noted that in his 24 years with the Hempstead Village Police Department, no officers have been killed on the job.

The village event was one of several planned on Long Island and nationwide this week as part of an annual effort to recognize members of law enforcement, both current and past. The recognition goes back to 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week.

Saturday is Peace Officers Memorial Day.

On Tuesday, the Nassau County Police Department headquarters in Mineola will be renamed "The William J. Willett Nassau County Police Headquarters," in a 10:30 a.m. ceremony. Willett, the department's first Black commissioner, started his career with the Nassau police department on Aug. 3, 1953 and became commissioner in 2000. Willett, of Westbury, died in 2002 at 71.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Mark Lesko said in a statement Monday that based on data analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, of those officers who have died nationwide in the line of duty in 2020, nearly 60% lost their lives from COVID-19. Their names — 394 in total — will be read at 8 p.m. Thursday at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. during a virtual candlelight vigil on YouTube.

Southampton Town police have planned a service at 9:30 a.m., May 19 at police headquarters to recognize the work of cops and the risks they take, officials said.

Those risks were apparent April 20 as police officers from Nassau and Hempstead Village urgently searched for the alleged gunman in the Stop & Shop shooting.

Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, 31, a shopping cart attendant, fatally shot store manager Ray Wishropp, of Valley Stream, Nassau police said. He also shot and wounded two other store employees: a 50-year-old man from Bethpage and a 26-year-old woman from Bay Shore, police said. Wilson was arrested in a Hempstead apartment building four hours after the shooting.

Village Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. said he understands "every day" officers in the police department put their lives on the line to protect residents.

"I think it’s important that we again appreciate the sacrifice that they make every day when they leave their families to protect our families," he said.