| Besides being memorialized for his heroism and sacrifice,
Police Officer Cecil (“Frank”) Sledge will always be remembered
in New York City PBA annals as the victim of a failed city policing policy
— the solo patrol. The 35-year-old 69th Pct. officer was riding in
a radio car without a partner on Jan. 28, 1980, when he pulled over a car
driven by a robbery suspect. The suspect gunned Officer Sledge down as he
approached, backed up over the cop’s body, and then took off again,
dragging the body five blocks. Early this year, 25 years to the day after
that grim event, the officer’s widow, Linda Sledge, retirees from
the 69 and PBA President Pat Lynch attended a memorial Mass in his honor
at Holy Family Church in Brooklyn. The above photo was taken after the Mass.
Whenever the specter of solo patrols has raised its ugly head in this city
over the past quarter-century, Linda Sledge has always been there for today’s
police officers by reminding New Yorkers, loudly and strongly, about how
dangerous a practice it is. |
