Patrolman Michael W. Paolillo

Michael W. Paolillo

Patrolman Paolillo was stabbed to death when he attempted to question a suspect.

Patrolman Paolillo was off-duty and talking with a friend inside a gun shop when a man entered and asked if he could have the grips on the gun adjusted. When the store owner told him he could, the suspect took a .25-caliber revolver from a paper bag and gave it to the owner. When the owner asked for Identification, the suspect took the gun back and left the store. Suspicious that the man did not have a license for the gun, Patrolman Paolillo followed the man out of the store and began to question him. While he was being questioned, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Patrolman Paolillo 17 times in the chest. The suspect then stole Patrolman Paolillo service weapon and fled from the location.

On August 19, 1971, a suspect, 24, was arrested in the Bronx and charged with murder. On December 1, 1972, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He died in prison on August 7, 2014.

Patrolman Paolillo was assigned to the the 42nd Precinct.