Two undercover detectives murdered last year on Staten Island were lauded as heroes yesterday at a solemn ceremony in which their names were added to the hallowed Memorial Wall at One Police Plaza.
“These brave men fought behind enemy lines, voluntarily putting themselves in the hands of hardened and violent criminals in an ongoing struggle to get guns off our streets,” said Mayor Bloomberg, referring to the efforts of Detectives Rodney J. Andrews and James V. Nemorin.
“Their valor and dedication contributed immensely in making New York the largest safe city in America,” Bloomberg said. “They will never die in our minds and hearts. They really were true heroes, and we will not forget them.”
Both men were shot execution-style on the night of March 10, 2003, during an attempted gun buy-and-bust that went awry. Police later arrested Ronell Wilson, 20, as the triggerman and five others in connection with the case.
Nemorin and Andrews, who became cops in July 1996, were the first officers to die in the line of duty since the attacks on the World Trade Center 16 months earlier and the first shot to death since 1998.