# List of New York City Police Department officers

This is a list of notable New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers.

## Early years: 1845–1865

| Name | Portrait | Rank | Life | Service years | Comments |
| Francis J. Banfield | No image available | Sergeant | 1827–1883 | 1857–1883 | Officer in charge of the State Armory at Second Avenue and Twenty-First Street. He was also a member of the "Steamboat Squad" later in his career. |
| James Z. Bogart | No image available | Captain | 1821–1881 | 1857–1870 | During the New York Draft Riots, Bogart led a police force against rioters looting the home of J.S. Gibbons, a cousin of New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley. |
| Charles N. Brackett | No image available | Captain | 1831–1888 | ?–1888 | |
| Samuel Brower | No image available | Captain | | | Police official who led a police detachment to cut down African Americans who had been hanged from lamp posts. |
| Cornelius Burdick | No image available | Captain | | ?–1865 | He led thirty-two police officers of the "Broadway Squad" who relieved Sergeant Francis Banfield and his men who were defending state armory. |
| John Cameron | No image available | Captain | 1807–1873 | 1857–1873 | Organized the defense of several key buildings in Manhattan including the State Armory and the Union Steam Works during the New York Draft Riots. |
| Daniel C. Carpenter | No image available | Inspector | 1815–1866 | 1847–1873 | Police detective who led squads against rioters in Broadway, the Fourth Ward, Second Avenue and other areas. |
| Theron S. Copeland | | Captain | 1831–1905 | 1855–1903 | Drill officer who co-led a police force with Captain John Dickson against rioters in Clarkston Street who were attacking local African American residents. It was their detachment which discovered the body of William Jones who had been tied to a tree and tortured to death. |
| Abram P. DeVoursney | No image available | Captain | 1827–1911 | | One of the officers who defended the New York Tribune during the New York draft riots. |
| John F. Dickson | No image available | Captain | 1821–1880 | 1850–1880 | Co-led a police force with drill officer Theron Copeland who defeated rioters in Clarkston Street and chased off mobs attacking African Africans. His men discovered the body of William Jones who had been tied to a tree and tortured to death. |
| George W. Dilks | No image available | Inspector | 1816–1901 | 1848–1888 | Led a force of two hundred officers into Second Avenue and recaptured the Union Steam Works, then being used as a headquarters and rallying point for rioters along the East Side Manhattan, after fierce hand-to-hand fighting against roughly five hundred rioters. |
| Frederick Ellison | No image available | Sergeant | | | Patrolman who led one of the first detachments against rioters, he was cut off from his men during the fighting at Third Avenue and Forty-Fourth Street and severely beaten by a mob. He remained unconscious throughout the fighting and was not rescued until the arrival of Sergeant Wade several hours later. |
| John S. Folk | | Superintendent | 1811–1885 | 1851–1885 | First police chief of the Brooklyn Municipal Police. He defended both the New York Tribune and the Brooklyn Eagle during the Draft Riot of 1863. |
| James Irving | No image available | Captain | 1836–1885 | 1857–1876 | |
| John Jourdan | | Captain | 1831–1870 | 1855–1870 | Led group of sixty men from the Sixth Precinct which battled rioters for over five hours while patrolling African American settlements north and east of the Five Points district during the first day of rioting. |
| James Leonard | No image available | Inspector | 1820–1869 | 1845–1869 | |
| John W. Mangin | | Sergeant | 1828–1897 | 1860–1897 | Officer in command of a police detachment with fellow Sergeant S.B. Smith. Their later arrival eventually resulted in the defeat of rioters at Third Avenue and Forty-Fourth Street. |
| Robert A. McCredie | No image available | Sergeant | | | Known as "Fighting Mac", he participated in the fighting at Third Avenue and Forty-Fourth Street. He and Sergeant Wolfe spearheaded an attack against rioters as police were slowly being driven down Third Avenue. McCredie forced the rioters back to Forty-Fifth Street but were eventually overwhelmed. |
| Jeremiah Petty | No image available | Captain | 1814–1889 | 1857–1887 | |
| Galen Porter | No image available | Captain | 1807–1883 | 1849–1865 | Police official under Superintendent Kennedy involved in organizing police detachments against rioters. During the first hours, he sent sixty patrolmen to reinforce police against rioters on Third Avenue. |
| Sergeant Van Orden | No image available | Sergeant | | | Officer who defended the State Arsenal at Seventh Ave. and 35th Street. against rioters during the first day of rioting. He had been ordered by Superintendent Kennedy to protect the building after reports that members of the Knights of the Golden Circle would attempt to capture the arsenal. |
| Sergeant Wade | No image available | Sergeant | | | Officer who commanded police during the fighting at Third Avenue and 44th street. Although the rioters initially forced police to retreat, he regrouped the remaining patrolman and managed to disperse the mob with the later arrival of Sergeants John Mangin and S.B. Smith. |
| Sergeant Wolfe | No image available | Sergeant | | | A participant in the fighting against rioters at Third Avenue and 44th street, he and Sergeant Robert McCredie forced the rioters back to Forty-Fifth Street but were eventually overwhelmed by the thousands of advancing rioters. |
| Johannes C. Slott | No image available | Captain | 1812–1874 | 1857–1870 | He and Captain George Walling led an advanced guard into Ninth Avenue but forced to retreat under heavy fire from rioters. |
| Stephen B. Smith | No image available | Sergeant | | | He and Sergeant John Mangin led a detachment of police officers who helped Sergeant Wade defeat rioters at Third Avenue and 44th street. |
| Francis C. Speight | No image available | Inspector | 1816–1877 | 1845–1877 | Commanded police forces guarding the Broadway draft office. A number of his officers, including Sergeants Wade, Mangin, McCredie and Wolfe, later participated in fighting rioters at Third Avenue and 44th street. |
| Peter Squires | No image available | Captain | 1815–1863 | 1847–1863 | |
| Henry V. Steers | | Inspector | 1832–1917 | 1857–1892 | |
| Thomas S. Steers | No image available | Captain | 1804–1884 | 1848–1870 | One of the earliest police officials appointed to the Metropolitan police force; also played a prominent role in the Draft Riot of 1863. |
| Thomas Woolsey Thorne | No image available | Inspector | 1823–1885 | 1857–1885 | Police official who commanded the 26th Precinct, operating from the basement of City Hall, and organized the defense of the New York Tribune. He was also a participant in the Police Riot of 1857. |
| Jacob B. Warlow | No image available | Captain | 1818–1890 | 1851–1875 | Led detachment from the First Precinct against rioters in the waterfront area and later took part in the defense of the New York Tribune. |
| George W. Walling | | Captain | 1823–1891 | 1847–1885 | Police official who organized the first "Strong Arm Squad" which was responsible for breaking up the Honeymoon Gang in 1853. Sided with Mayor Fernando Wood during the Police Riot of 1857 but later served a warrant for the mayor's arrest. He played a major role during the draft riots breaking up several large mobs in the Bowery and other nearby districts. |

## Post-Civil War era: 1866–1899

| Name | Portrait | Rank | Life | Service years | Comments |
| Anthony Allaire | | Inspector | 1820–1903 | 1865–1902 | Credited for the breakup of many street gangs during the post-Civil War era, most notably the Slaughter House Gang and the Dutch Mob, and the arrest of murderer Daniel McFarland in 1869. |
| William C. F. Berghold | | Captain | 1838–1909 | 1864–1895 | |
| Nicholas Brooks | | Inspector | 1844–1925 | 1867–1906 | |
| Edmund Brown | | Captain | 1837–1908 | 1864–1903 | |
| Thomas F. Byrnes | | Captain | 1842–1910 | 1863–1895 | Headed the NYPD Detective Bureau from 1880 until 1895. During his career, he was responsible for the arrests of countless gang leaders and other criminals of the era. He was also the detective in charge of the murder investigation of suspected Jack the Ripper victim Old Shakespeare. |
| James Campbell | | Captain | 1836–1922 | 1863–1903 | |
| Patrick Campbell | | Superintendent | 1827–1908 | 1870–1895 | |
| Edward Carpenter | | Captain | 1847–? | 1869–1892? | |
| Philip Cassidy | | Captain | 1841–1892 | 1870–1892 | |
| William H. Clinchy | | Captain | 1844–1906 | 1865–1892 | |
| Peter Conlin | | Inspector | 1841–1905 | 1869–1897 | |
| Timothy J. Creedon | No image available | Captain | 1840–1936 | 1864–1902 | Police official and Civil War hero implicated in police corruption investigations during the 1890s. Admitted that he had paid $15,000 to "fixers" for Tammany Hall in exchange for his position. |
| Joseph M. Dorcy | No image available | Detective | | | Police detective who pursued and captured a number of high-profile criminals, most notably, Whyos gang member Johnny Dolan in 1875 and embezzler Leon L.J. Bernard in 1876. |
| Thomas L. Druhan | | Inspector | 1844–1925 | 1870–1906 | |
| Joseph B. Eakins | | Inspector | 1844–1908 | 1866–1895 | |
| John W. Eason | | Captain | 1843–1903 | 1864–1903 | |
| Michael Foley | No image available | Captain | 1845–1920 | 1876–1878 | Advancing thru the NYPD ranks as patrolman, roundsman, and then 10th Precinct Captain. Constantly vigilant for nefarious operators of "disorderly houses" and local criminals like Owen Geoghegan. |
| Ira S. Garland | | Inspector | 1830–1902 | 1858–1890 | |
| George Gastlin | | Captain | 1835–1895 | 1864–1890 | First commander of the "Steamboat Squad" which eventually cleared out the waterfront area of river pirates, including breaking up the Hook Gang, by 1890. |
| John Gunner | | Inspector | 1831–1898 | 1861–1891 | |
| Henry D. Hooker | | Captain | 1830–1901 | 1861–1895 | |
| William J. Kaiser | | Captain | 1842–1913 | 1866–1888 | |
| Henry Kellett | | Captain | 1838–1898 | 1867–1889 | |
| Thomas J. Kennedy | No image available | Captain | 1834–1879 | 1860–1879 | |
| Thomas Killilea | | Captain | 1838–1902 | 1866–1901 | |
| Patrick H. Leavey | | Captain | 1843–1918 | 1866–1903 | |
| Daniel J. Lowery | | Captain | 1846–1891 | 1874–1891 | |
| John MacKellar | | Inspector | 1842–1900 | 1863–1900 | |
| William J. McKelvey | | Captain | 1842–1900 | 1863–1898 | |
| George W. McClusky | No image available | Inspector | 1861–1912 | 1882–1912 | Police official who led the NYPD Detectives Bureau and was involved in the Becker-Rosenthal murder trial. |
| John H. McCullagh | | Captain | 1842–1893 | 1864–1893 | Police official who closed down a number of well known panel houses including Shang Draper's operation which led to the breakup of his criminal gang. |
| Charles McDonnell | | Inspector | 1841–1888 | 1863–1888 | Police official who investigated vice districts, especially forced prostitution and white slavery, and arrested procuress "Jane the Grabber". |
| Patrick H. McLaughlin | | Inspector | 1842–1909 | 1866–1905 | |
| William W. McLaughlin | | Inspector | 1846–1933 | 1868–1907 | |
| Thomas Murphy | | Captain | 1845–1911 | 1867–1917 | |
| William Murray | | Superintendent | 1844–1908 | 1866–1892 | |
| Samuel E. Price | No image available | Captain | 1856–1914 | 1880–1914 | |
| George R. Rhodes | | Captain | 1824–1900 | 1857–1887 | |
| Thomas M. Ryan | | Captain | 1831–1907 | 1863–1895 | |
| John Sanders | | Captain | 1844–1889 | 1866–1889 | |
| William H. Schultz | | Captain | 1836– | 1867– | |
| Max F. Schmittberger | | Inspector | 1851–1917 | 1874–1917 | Police official implicated during investigations into police corruption. Testified that, as a police sergeant in the Tenderloin district, he collected payments from saloons, illegal gambling houses and other establishments and delivered to then precinct captain William Devery. |
| Edward Slevin | | Captain | 1844–1895 | 1873–1895 | |
| Elbert O. Smith | | Inspector | 1844–1910 | 1873–1907 | |
| William John Ernest Stevens | | Patrolman and Driver | 1860–1917 | 1893–1915 | Widely known in Brooklyn as the driver for various police inspectors. He was of powerful build and was at one time known as "Big Jack." In 1896 he won a silver cup for lifting 650 pounds from the floor without the aid of harness. After he went on the police force, where he served for 23 years, he was almost continuously the driver for inspectors. He was an Oddfellow and a member of the New York Veteran Policeman's Association. Retired 1915 because of physical disability. |
| Alexander B. Wartz | | Captain | 1845–1894 | 1868–1894 | |
| Josiah A. Westervelt | | Captain | 1849–1924 | 1867–1901 | |
| Alexander S. Williams | | Inspector | 1839–1917 | 1866–1895 | Police detective known as "Clubber Williams" who oversaw the Tenderloin and Gas House districts. In 1871, he led a "strong arm squad" into the district and was successful in breaking up the Gas House Gang. |
| Cornelius Woglom | | Captain | 1815–1889 | 1859–1888 | |
| Peter Yule | | Captain | 1830–1906 | 1870–1890 | |

## Early 20th century: 1898–1945

| Name | Portrait | Rank | Life | Service years | Comments |
| John Alan Messeder Sr. | No image available | Sergeant | 1910–1971 | 1934–1958 | Sergeant in Special Investigations - spent time as a US Marine and driver for the President of the United States. Investigated new applicants at the New York Police Department. Allegedly involved in the take down of mobsters in a jewelry heist early in his career which promoted him to sergeant. Member of the Free masons. |
| Charles Bacon | | | 1885–1968 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Samuel J. Battle | No image available | Lieutenant | 1883–1966 | 1911–1941 | First black official NYPD police officer in New York City upon the merger of Brooklyn and Queens. In March 1891 Wiley Overton was the first police officer but resigned after worn down by the racism he faced from fellow officers. In January, 1893, less than two years after his hiring, he resigned his position. Moses Cobb was Brooklyn's second black policeman before the merger of the city in 1898 was the first to retire. He was Battle's brother in law and mentor. |
| Charles Becker | | Lieutenant | 1870–1915 | 1893–1912 | Convicted and executed for the 1912 murder of a Manhattan gambler Herman Rosenthal. |
| George Bonhag | | | 1882–1960 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Johnny Broderick | | Detective | 1894–1966 | 1923–1947 | A popular "celebrity detective" during Prohibition, he headed the Industrial Squad in the 1920s and was famed for personally assaulting criminals and suspects. |
| John Coughlin | No image available | Inspector | 1874–1951 | 1896–1928 | Served as head of the NYPD detectives division and was responsible for the capture of bank robber Frank Hamby. He was forced into retirement in the aftermath of the Arnold Rothstein murder in 1928. |
| Sidney S. Cusberth | No image available | Detective | 1904–1968 | 1929–1951 | This African-American detective became one of the department's most highly decorated officers when he was awarded his 22nd citation for bravery and excellence in 1942. Cusberth was involved in numerous gunfights, killing seven holdup men. |
| James E. Dillon | No image available | Fourth Deputy Commissioner/Chief Inspector of Brooklyn and Queens | 1862–1925 | 1885–1918 | On March 19, 1885, James E. Dillon was appointed to the Police Department as a "sparrow cop" in Central Park. In 1898, he was appointed to desk sergeant to the E. 35th Street Station. In 1899, he was appointed to lieutenant at the E. 126th Street Station. On January 4, 1904, he was appointed to captain. On June 7, 1911, he was appointed as the Fourth Deputy Police Commissioner by the late Mayor Gaynor and placed in charge of police trials. In 1916, he was appointed to Chief Inspector of Brooklyn and Queens, succeeding Max Schmidtberger. In 1917, Chief Inspector Dillon became ill and was confined to his home for six weeks. After falling ill, in February 1918, he held a four hour conference with the Mayor at City Hall where he announced he was going to Police Headquarters to submit an application for retirement. After his retirement, he went into the marine insurance business with his son until the time of his death in 1925. |
| Michael Fiaschetti | No image available | Detective | 1886–1960 | 1908–1922 | One of the original five members of the NYPD's "Italian Squad", he succeeded Lt. Joseph Petrosino after his murder in 1909. |
| Max Finkelstein | No image available | Captain | 1884–1940 | 1911–1940 | Jewish-American police captain who was hand-picked by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia to lead a special squad to protect visiting officials from Nazi Germany and the German consulate in 1938. |
| John Flanagan | | | 1873–1938 | 1903–1910 | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the "Irish Whales". |
| George Samuel Dougherty | | Deputy Police Commissioner | 1865–1931 | 1888–1913 | One-time head of the NYPD Detectives Bureau, he is credited with introducing modern-day fingerprinting to the police force. He was involved in many high-profile criminal cases, most notably, solving the 1912 murder of Herman Rosenthal which resulted in the conviction and execution of fellow police detective Charles Becker and the Lenox Avenue Gang. |
| John Eller | | | 1883–1967 | 1905–1942 | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Richard Enright | | Police commissioner | 1871–1953 | 1896–1925 | First police officer to be appointed police commissioner. |
| Egon Erickson | | | 1888–1973 | 1911–1939 | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Simon Gillis | | | 1875–1964 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the "Irish Whales". |
| Isabella Goodwin | | Detective | 1865–1943 | 1896–1924 | First female police officer promoted to detective. |
| Mary Hamilton | No image available | | 1872–1956 | 1917–1926 | First director of the NYPD Policewomen's Bureau. |
| William H. Hodgins | No image available | Captain | 1856–1912 | 1888–1912 | Longtime police captain who was credited with breaking up numerous street gangs, most notably the Eastman and Humpty Jackson gangs during the turn of the 20th century. He was also involved in the peace negotiations which eventually ended the Tong wars in Chinatown. |
| Robert H. Holmes | No image available | | 1888–1917 | 1913–1917 | First African-American police officer to die in the line of duty. |
| Pat McDonald | | | 1878–1954 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the "Irish Whales". |
| Matt McGrath | | Inspector | 1875–1941 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Emil Muller | No image available | | 1891–1958 | | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| John J. O'Connell | No image available | Detective Sergeant | 1884–1946 | 1905–1945 | Credited for the arrests of Owney Madden and Tanner Smith. Later served as head of the NYPD Police Academy and Chief Inspector. |
| Joseph Petrosino | | Lieutenant | 1860–1909 | 1883–1909 | First Italian-American detective sergeant of the NYPD's Homicide Division and head of the "Italian Squad", he was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime in the United States. He was murdered while secretly investigating the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo. |
| Phil Regan | | Detective | 1906–1996 | | Later became a singer and film actor best known for his role as "The Singing Cop" in several musical comedies for both Republic and Monogram studios. In 1972, he was convicted for bribery in a real estate scandal. |
| Barney Ruditsky | No image available | Detective | 1898–1962 | 1921–1940 | Was a popular "celebrity detectives" during Prohibition. He later became a private detective, night club owner, and technical adviser in Hollywood. |
| Harry Schaaf | | Patrolman | | 1912–1943 | Member of the Irish American Athletic Club. |
| Mary Shanley | | Detective | 1896–1989 | 1931–1957 | Fourth woman to reach first-grade detective; first to fire her weapon in an arrest. |
| Martin Sheridan | | Sergeant | 1881–1918 | 1906–1918 | Member of the "Irish Whales". |
| Patrick Sheridan | No image available | Lieutenant | 1872–1942 | 1896–1937 | Commander of Gangster Squad. |
| Mary A. Sullivan | | Lieutenant | 1878/1879–1950 | 1911–1946 | Twenty year head of the Policewoman's Bureau, first woman homicide detective. |
| Antonio F. Vachris | | Lieutenant | 1866–1944 | 1893–1919 | One time head of the Italian Branch of the New York City Police Department. |
| Cornelius Willemse | No image available | Captain | 1871–1942 | 1900–1925 | Longtime captain of the NYPD's Homicide Squad, he battled many major criminals of the era including Kid Dropper, Little Augie Orgen and Tom Flanagan. |

## Post-World War II: 1946–1977

| Patrick "Paddy" Barry | | Lieutenant | 1947 | 1973–1993 | |
| Mario Biaggi | | Detective Lieutenant | 1917–2015 | 1942–1965 | Retired as one of the most decorated officers in New York City Police Department history, and received the police department’s Medal of Honor (its highest award) and the National Police Officers Association of America’s Medal of Valor, after killing two people who attacked him, and being injured 11 times in the line of duty; Later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives ten times, he resigned in 1988 following his conviction in two illegal gratuity trials. |
| William Caunitz | No image available | Detective Lieutenant | 1933–1996 | 1954–1984 | Later became a novelist. |
| Emil A. Ciccotelli | No image available | Commander | 1929–1998 | 1954–1992 | Deputy Chief and Chief of Detectives involved in the prosecution of the five major organized crime families in New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s. |
| Bill Clark | | Detective | 1944– | 1969–1994 | Later became an award-winning television writer and producer best known for his work on NYPD Blue and other police dramas. |
| Ed Dee | No image available | Lieutenant | 1940– | 1961–1981 | Later became a novelist. |
| Ed Deacy | No image available | Detective | 1946– | ?–1989 | One-time "official national anthem singer" for the New York City Police Department. |
| Bo Dietl | No image available | Detective | 1950– | 1972–1985 | Police detective turned media personality who has appeared on the Fox News Network and the Don Imus Show. |
| Eddie Egan | | Detective | 1917–1995 | 1952–1972 | He and fellow NYPD detective Sonny Grosso broke up an organized crime ring in 1961, seizing 112 pounds of heroin, later covered in the book and film The French Connection. |
| Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa | No image available | Detective(s) | 1948– 1942– | 1969–1990 1969–1992 | Associate members of the Gambino crime family who infiltrated the NYPD and carried out mob hits for the New York City underworld during the 1980s and 1990s. |
| Nicholas Estavillo | | Chief of Patrol | 1945– | 1968–2007 | First Puerto Rican chief of patrol of the New York City Police Department. |
| Sanford Garelik | No image available | Chief inspector | 1918–2011 | 1940–1979 | First Jewish chief inspector of the New York City Police Department. |
| Martin Golden | | | 1950– | 1973–1983 | Later became a member of the New York City Council and the New York State Senate. |
| Sonny Grosso | No image available | Detective | 1937– | 1951–1976 | He and partner Eddie Egan broke up an organized crime ring in 1961, seizing 112 pounds of heroin, later covered in the book and film The French Connection. |
| Fred Heineman | | Deputy chief | 1929–2010 | 1955–1979 | Later became a U.S. Congressman in North Carolina. |
| Sterling Johnson, Jr. | | | 1934– | 1956–1967 | Later became a senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. |
| Robert Leuci | No image available | Detective | 1940–2015 | 1961–1981 | Known for his work exposing corruption in the New York City police department and the criminal justice system. |
| Irma Lozada | No freely licensed image available | | 1959–1984 | 1980–1984 | First female police officer to die in the line of duty in New York City. |
| Thomas J. Manton | | | 1932–2006 | 1955–1960 | Later became a U.S. Congressman. |
| Barney Martin | | Detective | 1923–2005 | | Later became a film and television actor best known for his role as Morty Seinfeld in the television series Seinfeld. |
| Suzanne Medicis | No image available | Policewoman | 1942– | 1972–1997 | In 1982, Medicis became the first female to be awarded the Combat Cross. |
| Eddie Money (birth/legal name Edward Mahoney) | | Police Cadet | 1949–2019 | 1966–1968 | Later became a musician. |
| Pete Morisi | No image available | | 1928–2003 | 1956–1976 | Later became a comic book writer and artist. |
| Arthur J. Nascarella | | | 1944– | | Later became a film and television actor best known for his role as Capo Carlo Gervasi in the television series The Sopranos. |
| John F. O'Donohue | No image available | Lieutenant | 1946- | 1968–1988 | Later became a film and television actor best known for his role as Sgt. Eddie Gibson in the television series NYPD Blue. |
| Seymour Pine | No image available | Deputy Inspector | 1917–2010 | 1941–1976 | Led the police raid on the Stonewall Inn which sparked the Stonewall riots. |
| Joe Sánchez | | | 1947– | 1973–1985 | Police officer whose attempts in 1982 to expose illegal activities being committed by high-ranking NYPD officers resulted in a highly publicized court trial and his dismissal from the force. |
| Lloyd Sealy | No image available | Police Commander | 1917–1985 | 1942–1969 | First African American police commander of the New York City Police Department. |
| Albert Seedman | No image available | Chief Detective | 1918–2013 | 1941–1972 | First and so far only Jewish chief of detectives |
| Frank Serpico | | Detective | 1936– | 1959–1972 | Undercover police officer who testified against police corruption in 1971, and whose life was made into a movie and book. |
| Richard X. Slattery | | | 1925–1997 | 1948–1960 | Later became a film and television actor best known for his role as Sgt. John McKenna in The Gallant Men, Captain John Morton in Mister Roberts, and Captain "Buck" Buckner in C.P.O. Sharkey. |
| Robert Volpe | No image available | Detective | 1942–2006 | 1963–1983 | The first and only member of the NYPD's bureau for art crime, the only bureau of its kind in the country. His son Justin was convicted of the 1997 police assault of Abner Louima. |
| Leonard Ernest Weir | No image available | | 1931–2015 | 1959–1976 | First Black Muslim NYPD officer, whose rise to prominence came in the late 1950s when he founded and served as President of the National Society of Afro-American Policemen. Later became a writer and American social activist. |

## Modern: 1978–present

| Name | Portrait | Rank | Life | Service years | Comments |
| Eric Adams | | Captain | 1960– | 1984–2006 | Currently the mayor of New York City. Served in the New York Senate from 2006 to 2013. |
| Charles M. Barbuti | No image available | Captain | 1963– | 1986–2011 | Former captain of the Bronx District Attorney's police squad. Target of internal investigation in 2009 for theft and destruction of two city cars and was fired the following year. |
| Gerard Benderoth | No image available | Patrolman | 1969–2017 | 1995–2005 | Later became a professional strongman. |
| Michael Buczek | No image available | Patrolman | 1964–1988 | 1985–1988 | Shot to death by drug dealers in Manhattan's Washington Heights while answering a domestic call. A Little League baseball, baseball field,school, street and foundation was founded in 1989 named for him. |
| Edward Byrne | No image available | Patrolman | 1966–1988 | 1987–1988 | Second-generation police officer who was murdered in 1988. |
| Kevin P. Clark | No image available | Deputy Chief | 1956- | 1981–2003 | Later became commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department. |
| Edward Conlon | No image available | Detective | 1965– | 1995–2011 | Later became a novelist. |
| James E. Davis | No image available | | 1962–2003 | 1991–1998 | Later elected to the New York City Council. He was murdered by fellow politician Othniel Askew at New York City Hall. |
| Steve Dillon | | | 1943– | 1969–1990 | New York Mets pitcher 1963–1964 |
| Patricia Feerick | No image available | Lieutenant | 1960– | 1981–1994 | Policewoman who was fired for police misconduct. |
| Joseph Gray | No image available | Patrolman | 1961– | 1986–2001 | Officer whose murder of three pedestrians in a drunk driving crash was covered up by his superiors. |
| Joe Jusko | | Patrolman | 1959– | 1983–1986 | Later became a comic book writer and artist. |
| Bernard Kerik | | New York City Police Commissioner | 1955– | 1986-1994, 2000-2001 | Appointed by Rudy Giuliani from August 2000 to December 2001, served during the 9/11 attacks, later served as acting interior minister of Iraq in 2003 during the Iraq War, and Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign surrogate and advisor. Served 3 years in prison for tax fraud, currently released from prison and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020 and served as a 2020 Trump-Pence campaign advisor. |
| Mary Lowery | No image available | | | 1984– | First female helicopter pilot in the NYPD's Aviation Unit. |
| Jack Maple | No image available | Deputy Police Commissioner | 1952–2001 | 1994–1996 | Served as Deputy Police Commissioner for Crime Control Strategies, he is credited for the creation of CompStat. |
| Steven McDonald | No image available | Detective | 1957–2017 | 1984–1986 | Officer whose 1986 shooting left him a quadriplegic. He is the most seriously injured NYPD policeman to survive his injury. His son, Conor (b. 1987), who his wife, Patti Ann, was pregnant with during the shooting, became a New York City Police Department officer in 2010. |
| Brian McNamee | No image available | Undercover officer | 1967– | 1990–1993 | Later became a baseball coach for the New York Yankees and personal trainer for Roger Clemens. |
| Hiram Monserrate | | Patrolman | 1967– | 1988–2000 | Later elected to the New York State Senate. He was expelled from the state senate following his conviction for assault in 2009. |
| Ed Norris | | Deputy commissioner | 1960– | 1980–2000 | Later served as Baltimore Police Commissioner and Superintendent of the Maryland State Police. Norris later pleaded guilty to federal corruption and tax charges. |
| Jane Perlov | No image available | Chief of Detectives | 1956– | 1981–1998 | First female Detective Borough Commander in the New York City Police Department. |
| Louis N. Scarcella | | Detective | 1951– | 1973–1999 | Homicide detective involved in 20 overturned convictions. |
| Adrian Schoolcraft | No image available | Patrolman | 1976– | 2002–2010 | Officer who released secretly recorded tapes to The Village Voice showing numerous instances of police misconduct. |
| Carol Shaya-Castro | No image available | Patrolwoman | 1970– | 1991–1995 | Policewoman who was fired when she posed for Playboy in 1994. |
| Michael Simanowitz | No image available | Auxiliary Deputy Inspector | 1971–2017 | 1995–2017 | Elected to the New York State Assembly in 2011. |
| Frank Spangenberg | No image available | Lieutenant | 1957– | 1986– | First person to win more than $100,000 in five days on the game show Jeopardy!. |
| Russel Timoshenko | No free image available | Detective (posthumously) | 1983–2007 | 2006–2007 | Officer whose 2007 murder resulted in debate over gun control laws in New York City |
| James Zadroga | No image available | Detective | 1971–2006 | 1992–2001 | First officer whose death from a respiratory disease was attributed to his participation in rescue and recovery operations following the September 11 attacks. |
| David Zayas | | Patrolman | 1962– | 1986–2001 | Later became a film and television actor best known for his roles as Enrique Morales in the television series Oz and Angel Batista in Dexter. |