Police Officer Arthur Lopez Memorial Bridge dedication ceremony set for Sunday

A bridge over the Cross Island Parkway, on the Nassau-Queens border, will be dedicated Sunday to honor late Nassau County police Officer Arthur Lopez, shot and killed in the line of duty three years ago while attempting to arrest a hit-and-run driver.

The dedication ceremony renaming the bridge on Jamaica Avenue in Bellerose Manor as the Police Officer Arthur Lopez Memorial Bridge is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The location is at Jamaica Avenue and 241st Street, near where Lopez was killed on Oct. 23, 2012.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation in August that renamed the bridge, which spans the Cross Island near Exit 27E.

A memorial tree also has been planted near the site to honor Lopez, who served with Nassau police for eight years -- and who was assigned to the Emergency Services Unit.

Lopez, 29, of Babylon, and his partner were pursuing Darrell Fuller, 35, of Queens, after Fuller fled the scene of an accident.

When Lopez approached Fuller's stopped car, Fuller shot the officer in the chest. In September 2014, after a two-month trial, Fuller was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”