Edward “Eddie” Byrne was a police officer in the NYPD who became well known in the US after he was murdered while on duty.
Byrne‘s father had also been an NYPD officer; his elder brother was a NY fireman.
Byrne had joined the NYPD in July ’87.
Around 3:30 a.m, on February 26, 1988 Byrne was sitting in his marked patrol car on 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, Queens. He was assigned to keep an eye on the house of a local Guyanese immigrant named Arjune who had repeatedly called the police to report on illegal activities in the area. The house had been previously firebombed on two separate occasions and the owner repeatedly threatened. As Byrne sat in his car another car pulled up beside him. Two men exited and one of them knocked on the passenger side window of Byrne‘s cruiser while a second man crept up on the driver’s side and shot Byrne in the head five times with a .38 caliber pistol. Two other men acted as lookouts.
Byrne was pronounced dead at a hospital. He was 22 years old.
It was later learned that the assailants canvassed the immigrant’s house twice on preceding days before killing Officer Byrne, but decided not to kill the lone officer in the patrol car since the first officer they encountered was a young female, and the second was a black male.
The murder prompted nationwide outrage. Ronald Reagan personally called the Byrne family to offer condolences. George H.W. Bush carried Byrne‘s badge with him on his campaign for president in 1988.
The four killers were identified as Philip Copeland, Todd Scott, Scott Cobb, David McClary. All four were apprehended within a week of the murder and were all eventually convicted.
The killing was ordered from jail by drug dealer Howard “Pappy” Mason.
Mason ran a drug dealing gang called the Bebos with his partner Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols (who was never charged for the crime). The gang sold drugs and netted as much as $200,000 per week in profit. Mason directed the activities of the Bebos by issuing orders over jailhouse telephones and during visits.
The murder had the opposite effect from what was intended. Rather than intimidate the public and police it prompted a concentrated crackdown which saw the two kingpins put behind bars. Mason was eventually convicted on federal charges which included ordering the killing of Officer Byrne.
He is serving his life sentence in the ADX Florence supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
>>>Koch Ad Asks Help of Reagan in Drug Battle
Moved by last week’s assassination-style murder of Officer Edward Byrne, Mr. Koch authorized the use of $12,900 from his re-election committee war chest to buy today’s ad. Pictured in a black border is the youthful face of the officer, who was shot to death in his patrol car while guarding the home of a Queens man who is a witness in a drug case.
Beneath the picture bold black letters say: ”Officer Edward Byrne was murdered in cold blood. Let’s make certain he didn’t die for nothing.” The ad is signed by the Mayor.
The text contains an impassioned plea to readers in which Mr. Koch points out that the murder – committed, he says, by ”a gunman who, very probably, was acting on instructions from a New York drug kingpin” – was only a symptom of a more insidious ”disease.”
Source: MICHEL MARRIOTT, The New York Times, February 29, 1988
>>Gone but not forgotten
In honor of Police Officer Edward Byrne, 91st Avenue was renamed P.O. Edward R. Byrne Avenue. Pol. Officer Edward Byrne Park in Queens was dedicated on August 3, 1995. A school in the Bronx, Junior High School 101, was renamed in his honor. The Byrne JAG Grants fund was established via the Department of Justice which directs funding to local law enforcement agencies with the primary concept being to enhance officer safety via equipment, technology and training.
>popular culture
50 Cent – Ghetto Qu’ran.mp3
Mason was referenced by Nas in The World Is Yours: “The mind activation, react like I’m facing time like ‘Pappy’ Mason with pens I’m embracing.” As well as in his ’02 album God’s Son: “New York streets where killers’ll walk like Pistol Pete And ‘Pappy’ Mason, gave the young boys admiration.” He is also mentioned on the single Just A Moment.
Mason is referenced directly along with Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff in 50 Cent‘s Ghetto Qu’ran and I Don’t Need Em.
… and in Jay-Z & R.Kelly – Best of Both Worlds Album ” The combination of Pappy Mason and Larry Davis, Martin and Malcolm this is bigger than the Album.”
New York asks for Reagan’s help in drug battle
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