The community mourn the loss of Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo.
Tuozzolo was shot after responding to a report of an armed man breaking into an apartment on Beach Avenue.
As the news of the shooting spread throughout the Bronx and the rest of the city, community members and elected officials offered their thoughts and condolences.
“The city is in mourning, and the family of the NYPD is in mourning, and particularly all the men and women of the 4-3 Precinct are in mourning right now,” said Mayor de Blasio. “They lost a very good man, a devoted man, a man who committed his life to protecting all of us.”
On Monday, November 7, the 43rd Precinct and Community Board 9, held a vigil to remember Tuozzolo and celebrate his life and service to the community.
“This is not a loss just for this family, for this precinct,” said Assemblyman Marcos Crespo. “This is a loss for this city, state, country and world.”
“Not because he was a police officer,” Crespo added. “But because he was a human being, a loving father, husband, neighbor, friend, cousin and son.”
On Friday, November 4 at 2:45 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call that a male with a gun had broken into an apartment on Beach Avenue in the Stratton Park area, just off the Cross Bronx Expressway.
A few minutes later, the 43rd Precinct responded to reports of the suspect Manuel Rosales, 35, fleeing the scene in a red Jeep.
Rosales, a resident of Brentwood, Long Island, had broken in the house of his estranged wife at 1460 Beach Avenue.
At 2:53 p.m. the vehicle was spotted by a marked NYPD vehicle. Officers approached the vehicle when the suspect fired at the officers with a handgun.
Rosales was pronounced dead at the scene and both Tuzzolo and Sgt. Emmanuel Kwo, a nine-year veteran were transported to Jacobi Hospital.
Tuozzolo, who had taken a gunshot to the head, was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
Kwo, who was shot in the leg, was listed in stable condition.
Senator Gustavo Rivera, offered his condolences through a statement.
“This is a further reminder of the dangers faced by our men and women in blue while on the job,” said Rivera. “These two officers truly went beyond the call of duty to make our city a safer place to live. It is indeed a sad day for our city.”
“Sgt. Tuozzolo wasn’t just a great cop and a great boss,” said one officer who served under Tuozzolo for three months and worked with him for eight months. “He was a loving husband, brother, and son, and also, the father to two young children that now are forced to wonder why daddy isn’t coming home.”
The officer added, “He was a man who, just months shy of being able to retire, continued to patrol the streets and support his cops. Our precinct, department, and city is now worse off for the loss of this great man.”
Tuozzolo served at the 43rd Precinct for 10 years and lived in Huntington, NY.
His funeral was held on Thursday, November 10, at 11 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima in Massapequa, Long Island.
