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October 20, 2001 Lake Carmel officer hailed as 'best of best' By ELIZABETH
CUNNINGHAM
CARMEL — The thousands who gathered yesterday at St. James the Apostle Church remembered New York City Police Officer Stephen Driscoll through tears and laughter as a selfless and patriotic man devoted to his family and proud of his Irish heritage. "Steve Driscoll was born on the Fourth of July," said the Rev. William Gillies Kalaidjian, a friend and retired senior NYPD chaplain. "We thought all of the fireworks were for him." Driscoll, 38, was a Lake Carmel resident and 10-year veteran of the force who had served in Midtown South and the Street Crimes Unit before joining the elite Emergency Services Unit. One of 23 police officers lost while responding to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, he remains listed among the missing. Fellow officer and close friend Joe McFadden, whose birthday is Sept. 11, shared his memories of Driscoll with the hundreds packed in the church yesterday for a memorial Mass. His eulogy evoked laughter when he described his friend's "weird desire to learn how to drive backwards really, really fast." "He was a really great friend. He was really proud to be a cop," McFadden said. "Stephen went into 2 World Trade Center. He left us doing something he loved." A sea of blue-uniformed mourners lined Gleneida Avenue from Route 6 to Route 301 with police officers from across the state, New Jersey and Connecticut paying homage to the fallen hero. In salute, three helicopters flew overhead after the service. Police Officer Kevin Donohue, who served with Driscoll on Truck 4 in the Bronx, said he was known as the "Mayor of Emergency Services," whom everyone adored, especially Donohue's in-laws. "I brought him down to my in-laws' house on St. Patrick's Day and he took over the place," Donohue said with a grin. "From that time on, every time I saw them they asked, 'How is Steve?'" Donohue, in his eulogy, also spoke of Driscoll's unfailing patriotism, recalling the day he and Driscoll passed a post office and Driscoll noticed a flag not completely unfurled. "The American flag meant a lot to Stephen Driscoll," Donohue said. "He went into the post office and told them this is not the way the flag is to be flown...He told them he would be back if he saw the flag furled up again." Driscoll was a flag bearer for the NYPD's Emerald Society. Police Officer Richard Hartigan, who also served with Driscoll, said he would remember Driscoll for the laughter he brought to the squad. "You laughed every day," Hartigan said. "We'd play practical jokes on one another. We'd horse around. We were a tight squad. We were very close. We were all a family. Steve knew everybody and everybody loved him. He would do anything for anyone. He is going to be missed." New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik attended the Mass, as did Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue, Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, and state Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Patterson. Kerik called Driscoll a "true hero" in the final eulogy. "Everybody knows the New York City Police Department is the best in the world," Kerik said. "When cops need help, they call the Emergency Services Unit. He wanted to demonstrate to the entire world that he was the best, one of the elite. On Sept. 11, he was called for an assignment. It was a rescue assignment. Never in the history of this department were there more losses than on 9/11." Kerik then addressed Stephen and Ann Driscoll's 15-year-old son: "Barry, your father was a very humble and generous man. He was, in fact, the best of the very best."
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