In the line of duty, Police Officer James G. Carragher, a 55-year-old male, lost his life on a Thursday, the 11th of February, 1982. A veteran of the United States Navy who served in World War II, he had been with the New York City Housing Authority Police Department for 16 years. On that fateful evening, his tour of duty had just ended, and he was a mere eighty feet from the entrance to his building when his life was cut short.
Two men, aged 22 and 32, approached Officer Carragher with
firearms, intending to rob him. Drawing his own weapon in defense, he was able to fire five shots before he was struck by two bullets and killed. The assailants fled the scene, leaving a wife, four daughters, and four grandchildren to mourn the sudden and violent loss of their loved one. For ten months, the case remained a painful open wound for his family and the police department as detectives searched for those responsible for his murder.
A breakthrough in the investigation came when detectives received a crucial tip. One of the suspects had been unable to keep silent about his involvement in the killing of the officer and had been bragging about his role in the crime. This vital piece of information led to the arrest of both men approximately ten months after the shooting. The 22-year-old suspect was later convicted of second-degree murder and received a sentence of 18 years to life in prison. An additional sentence of 9 to 18 years was added for an unrelated robbery of an elderly woman that had occurred on the same night. After serving a lengthy sentence, he was paroled on September 5, 2014.
