’72 fallen cop gets his ‘way’
Tribute and apology
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton issued a mea culpa for the city Monday during an emotional streetrenaming ceremony for slain Patrolman Phillip Cardillo in Queens.
Standing before hundreds of police cadets and Cardillo’s weeping son, Bratton apologized for the way thenMayor John Lindsay and Police Commissioner Patrick Murphy botched the handling of the investigation into Cardillo’s murder by Nation of Islam radicals at a Harlem mosque in 1972.
As racial tensions boiled after the cop’s slaying, police brass allowed potential suspects and witnesses to leave the crime scene.
Neither Lindsay nor Murphy attended Cardillo’s funeral. They also asked for forgiveness from Nation of Islam leaders for allowing cops to enter the mosque to check out an emergency call for help.
“It was wrong that the mayor and the police commissioner did not attend the funeral,” Bratton said as he renamed 28th Avenue in front of the Police Academy in Flushing “Patrolman Phillip Cardillo Way.”
“It was wrong that the political process affected the investigation.
“Today, we say that was unforgivable,’’ Bratton said. “Today, we say, ‘Never forget.’ ”
Cardillo’s tearful son, Todd, told those gathered, “This has been a long time. It’s not the end of it. It’s a just a new chapter.”
Some of Cardillo’s former fellow officers traveled from as far as Florida to attend the ceremony.
“It took 43 years for this journey. I am so damn happy. I never thought we’d be standing here,” said retired Detective Rudy Andre, 66, who broke through glass to get into the mosque and help rescue his comrades.
No one has ever been convicted in Cardillo’s murder.