Detective Troy David Patterson

Troy David Patterson

Detective Troy Patterson succumbed to a gunshot wound he received on January 16, 1990.

Detective Patterson was washing his car at 5:20 p.m. on Jefferson Avenue in Brooklyn when three juveniles shot him in the head because he would not give them $20. He was transported to Kings County Hospital and never recovered. He remained in a vegetative state at a rehabilitation center in New Jersey until he died 33 years later.

Three subjects, ages 15, 17, and 20, were arrested, convicted and served prison time. The 20-year-old was sentenced to 5-15 years. The 15-year-old, believed to be the shooter, was tried as a juvenile and only served a few months in prison in New York, but he served 14 years in a South Carolina prison for a different felony.

Detective Patterson was promoted to Detective in 2016. He had served with the New York City Police Department for 40 years. He is survived by his son and grandchildren.