Patrolman Joseph M. Gaffney

Joseph M. Gaffney

Patrolman Joseph Gaffney succumbed to a gunshot wound he received ten days earlier.

Patrolman Gaffney and two other Patrolmen responded to the front of 11 Skillman Avenue, Brooklyn, to investigate the sound of gunshots just after midnight on New Year's Day. When the officers arrived, they found a suspect firing two revolvers into the air. The officers yelled for the suspect to stop, but instead, he turned toward the officers and opened fire. Patrolman Gaffney was struck in the right side of his chest, the right arm, and the right wrist. A second Patrolman was also wounded in the left arm. The suspect's wife ran out and attempted to stop the shooting, but she, too, was shot and wounded.

The suspect threw down his weapons and fled on foot. The third officer on the scene chased the suspect and was able to apprehend him a block away. He was acquitted.

Patrolman Gaffney was removed to St. Catherine's Hospital where he died from his wounds ten days later.

Patrolman Gaffney had served with the New York City Police Department for at least 6 years, assigned to the 20th Precinct. He was survived by his parents, four brothers, and a sister.