Photo: twitter
A New York City Police Department detective who spent more than three decades in a coma after being shot during a 1990 robbery is dead.
The Detectives' Endowment Associationannounced the death of Detective Troy Pattersonin a Twitter post on Sunday, remembering him as a “hero of New York City, who inspired hundreds of fellow Detectives to continue his courageous, important crime-fighting work.”
According to the Associated Press, Patterson went into “a vegetative state” on Jan. 16, 1990, after being shot in the head while washing his car when three individuals approached him in search of $20.
According to NBC New York, all three “served time for various convictions and have since been released,” but Patterson, who was 27 years old at the time of the shooting, never regained consciousness.
His son, Troy Patterson, Jr., who was only 5 years old when the incident occurred,shared with ABC7that while his dad had a limited ability to communicate, he was “able to react to his family’s voices and sometimes he smiled, chuckled, or even laughed.”
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Detective Troy Patterson, who was shot 33 years ago and succumbed to his injuries Saturday, April 29th. We will never forget his memory, or his dedication to making our city a safer place for all. #FidelisAdMortem,” the NYPD saidthrough a statement on Twitter.
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“Whether it was 3 months or over 30 years ago, the NYPD never forgets. It is the pledge that we make to every member when they walk through the doors of our academy. It is our vow to lend our unwavering support to their families & honor legacies like that of Det. Troy Patterson,” shared Keechant Sewell, Police Commissioner of the City of New York, in astatement on Twitterfollowing the event.
source: people.com
