Rockland Honors its Police Officers who Made “the Ultimate Sacrifice”

By Sarah Morgenstern

The Rockland Law Enforcement Monument, which is on Main Street in New City, will add to its walkway: bricks with the names of 40 police officers who died in the line of duty in 2021, announced Jay Hood, the chairman of the Rockland County Legislature.

Rockland County community members purchase the bricks for the monument, which is near the County Courthouse, that features the names of fallen officers who had honorably served in the Rockland Police Department.

One notable inclusion among this year’s fallen heroes is NYPD Police Officer Robert J. Reidy, who passed away on Nov. 19, 2019, after suffering from “a brave and long illness resulting from his response in the aftermath of the World Trade Center terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001,” Hood wrote in a county proclamation.

Hood’s announcement comes this week, when he declared, “National Police Week in Rockland County,” to “recognize the law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for safety and protection of others,” he wrote.

In addition, Hood said that the Rockland County Legislature “salutes the men and women of our local law enforcement communities and the agencies they represent across the nation.”

In Washington, DC, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial added 619 new names of heroes who have sadly fallen.

Of the 472 American police officers who died in 2021, 319 of them died of causes related to Covid-19.

“The people of Rockland are fortunate to be protected by dedicated law enforcement professionals,” the Rockland County legislature tweeted. “Our officers, deputies, troopers, and law enforcement workforce are well-trained individuals who put their personal safety in jeopardy in order to serve and protect the public.”