Greenwich officer involved in I-95 shoot-out dies at age 82
GREENWICH — James Fahy, a retired Greenwich police officer who was awarded numerous commendations for bravery after a shoot-out with armed robbery suspects on I-95 in 1974, died Wednesday. He was 82.
Fahy was a longtime Cos Cob resident and a 23-year veteran of the department who retired with the rank of lieutenant in 1991, according to Greenwich Police Department.
In the incident on I-95, at least a dozen shots were fired at the old toll both near Exit 4, and when the firing stopped, two suspects had been killed by Fahy and a Connecticut state trooper, and a third was seriously wounded. Fahy was credited for his quick action and proficient marksmanship in the deadly shooting.
It began on the afternoon of Sept. 24, 1974, when a trio of armed robbers from Brooklyn, N.Y., entered the home of Darien family who were holding a memorial service for their deceased father.
The mourners were robbed at gunpoint, and after the suspects had fled, police put out a description of the vehicle used by the perpetrators, a white Cadillac. The trooper stopped and approached the vehicle on I-95 in Greenwich, and Fahy arrived a short time later. One of the suspects began firing with a rifle and another with a pistol, according to media accounts from the period. The exchange of gunfire was over in less than a minute.
Fahy remains the only recipient of the Greenwich Police Department’s Medal of Honor. He also received national and state commendations. He was awarded the John Clarke “Officer of the Year” Award in 1974.
But he remained modest about his actions during
the armed confrontation.
“It was just one of those things that happens,” he told Greenwich Time when he retired in August 1991.
He was born in New York City on Dec. 23, 1937. He graduated from All Hallows High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and earned an associate’s degree from Norwalk Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Haven.
Before becoming a Greenwich police officer, Fahy served as a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1968, and he continued as a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Fahy was as a town constable in Greenwich after retiring from the police department, serving legal papers.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen.