New York City Police Department, New York
End of Watch: Thursday, December 28, 1978
Age: 49
Tour of Duty: 18 years
Badge Number: 15403
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 28, 1978
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life in prison
Police Officer David Guttenberg was shot and killed when he walked into a robbery in progress.
Officer Guttenberg entered an auto body shop near the corner of 86th Street and Seventh Avenue to check on a double-parked vehicle. Unbeknownst to the officer, there was a man inside the location robbing the shop. When Officer Guttenberg entered, he was shot and killed. The suspect then fled the location in the double-parked car. A lookout who was standing near the double-parked car fled on foot when he heard the shots.
Officer Guttenberg’s partner, who was sitting in the parked patrol car, was unaware of what had happened until the store owner ran out of the store when the suspects fled. He was unable to apprehend either suspect, as they had already fled in the vehicle.
Both men were apprehended and convicted of murder. They were both sentenced to life in prison. The shooter died in prison; his lookout was paroled in July of 2014.
Officer Guttenberg was a United States Army veteran and had served with the New York City Police Department for 18 years and was assigned to the 68th Precinct. His wife and four children survived him.
In October 2017, Seventh Avenue and 86th Avenue was renamed Patrolman David Guttenberg Avenue.