Hero stricken
Paralyzed cop McDonald has heart attack
AN NYPD detective who became a symbol of perseverance after he was paralyzed in a 1986 on-duty shooting was hospitalized Friday after suffering a serious heart attack at his Long Island home, police said.
NYPD Detective Steven McDonald — who has maintained a constant presence in the department for three decades despite being paralyzed from the neck down — was rushed to the hospital after the 1 p.m episode at his home in Nassau County, a police spokesman said.
The hero cop was in critical but stable condition in the intsensive care unit at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset Friday night, authorities said.
His son, NYPD Sgt. Conor McDonald, told NY1 that his father was unconscious, and asked the city to pray for him.
Police officials took to social media Friday to offer their support.
“My thoughts and prayers for Det. Steven McDonald who was hospitalized earlier today after suffering a heart attack. #hero,” tweeted NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
The New York Rangers hockey team, who since 1987 have presented a “Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award” to a player who goes above and beyond the call of duty, also sent their “prayers and love” to the family.
McDonald was investigating bicycle thefts while on patrol in Central Park on July 12, 1986 when 15-year-old Shavod Jones shot him three times.
One bullet pierced his spine.
His initial prognosis was grim, but McDonald has endured ever since, using a wheelchair and breathing with a respirator.
Last September, he beamed with pride at a ceremony at One Police Plaza, when his son Conor was promoted to sergeant.
“I didn’t think it would be possible to do it in front of my dad,” Conor McDonald told reporters after the September ceremony.
“I know it is borrowed time with my dad. It is a miracle he is alive. So to do it in front of him is emotional.”
Just eight months earlier, in January, 2016, the younger McDonald followed in his father’s footsteps by earning his gold detective shield.
Jones served nearly 10 years in prison for shooting McDonald.
He died soon after his release in 1995.