On the evening of May 4, 1981, Jan Brinkers, a 42-year-old male, was inside a tavern on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx when his life was cut tragically short. An off-duty Lieutenant with the New York City Housing Authority Police Department, Brinkers found himself in the midst of a robbery when three men entered the establishment and announced a holdup.
Identifying himself as a police officer, he drew his weapon in an attempt to intervene and protect those around him.
In a heroic act of defiance, Brinkers confronted the assailants. However, one of the suspects opened fire, striking him in the chest. Despite his grievous wound, Lieutenant Brinkers managed to return fire, discharging his weapon six times at the fleeing men. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. In the ensuing investigation, it was discovered that one of the suspects had been wounded in the leg by the shots fired by Brinkers.
The perpetrators were identified as three Cuban refugees who had arrived in the United States during the Mariel Boatlift. A break in the case came eleven days after the shooting when police received a tip from a woman, leading to the apprehension of two of the suspects, aged 28 and 36. The third suspect, a 27-year-old who was later identified as the shooter, was captured two weeks later when he sought medical treatment for a bullet wound to his leg.
All three men were charged with murder and were subsequently convicted. The 36-year-old suspect was paroled on February 28, 2018, and the 28-year-old suspect died in prison on July 9, 1985. The man who fired the fatal shot was paroled on January 6, 2020. Lieutenant Brinkers, a United States Army Reserve veteran, had served with the New York City Housing Authority Police Department for 15 years and was survived by his wife.
