Memorial in Manhasset pays tribute to Nassau officer killed in 1961 during armed robbery arrest

The sound of bagpipes wailed as about 100 police officers and first responders stood solemnly Sunday in Manhasset where Joseph Coote died 60 years ago to try to stop three armed robbers from fleeing.

Coote, 31, a Nassau County police officer, was shot to death on March 22, 1961, by one of the men who had just robbed a local supermarket on Northern Boulevard. Coote lived in New Hyde Park and had been with the department for nearly five years.

"It’s a very special day," said Coote’s daughter Elizabeth Fronckwicz after officers laid a wreath at the corner of Brinkerhoff Lane and Third Street where Coote died. "It’s a little emotional too. It’s the first time I’ve been to the site where it happened."

At the time of her father’s death, Fronckwicz was not even 2 years old. Her mother, Georgiana Coote-Fitzpatrick, was pregnant with her brother Joseph Coote Jr., who never met his father.

"It’s a wonderful tribute, and it’s nice to know that he’s not forgotten for the sacrifice that he made," she said.

Coote was one of 41 Nassau police officers who died in the line of duty since the department’s founding in 1925, said Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

After the wreath was laid, the ceremony moved to Mary Jane Davies Green Park, where officials and Fronckwicz gave remarks in front of a large draped American flag.

"We are glad everyone came out to honor him," said Michael Rice, first deputy chief of the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department, which organized the memorial with the police department. "We didn’t forget his family."

Ryder addressed the family, saying: "The sacrifice made by your husband will never be forgotten."

Ryder also referred to the thin blue line flag, which long has signaled support of police. It stirred controversy on Long Island and elsewhere, as it was carried by white supremacists at several high-profile events last year and by members of the mob who attacked the Capitol Jan. 6.

"We live in a world that there’s an anti-police movement out there," said Ryder. "There’s a flag that sits behind us, a beautiful flag that Joseph Coote fought for. … Now we have a flag, the same flag that has a blue thin line through it that honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, that honors Joseph Coote."

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said although the world today differs greatly from the one in 1961, "I know that one thing has not changed: that is the people who serve and protect our community wake up every morning and put on their uniform. They are putting their lives on the line."

About a dozen neighbors came to watch the ceremony at the street corner where Coote died and later, Alex Katsoulis, 16, attended the evening ceremony with several fellow Boy Scouts and their parents. He said he had seen the street sign at the nearby intersection that bore Coote’s name.

"I think it was a brave thing for him to sacrifice and protect the community," said Katsoulis, a senior patrol leader of Troop 71.

"We didn’t know the story and we wanted to learn more," said the teenager’s father, Tim Katsoulis of Manhasset. "It’s the least we can do."

With Antonio Planas