The Posthumous Publication of a Murdered Officer's Novel

The NY Daily News remarks on a publication story that is both remarkable and heartbreaking:

Auxiliary cop Nicholas Pekearo was gunned down on a Greenwich Village street days after he finished his first novel about a supernatural crimefighter who can't be stopped by bullets.

"The Wolfman" will be published Tuesday by Tor Books. 

"I wish he was here to see this happening," says his mother, Iola Latman.

Pekearo, 28, and fellow auxiliary cop Eugene Marshalik, 19, were following gunman David Garvin on Sullivan St. after he shot a worker at a pizzeria in March 2007. The cops were unarmed; Pekearo was wearing a bulletproof vest he bought on eBay.

It couldn't save him when Garvin crossed the street and pumped five bullets into Pekearo as he crouched behind a car. He then shot Marshalik execution style in the head.

Pekearo's name was placed on the NYPD's Wall of Heroes last week. Newsday also has a short feature on Pekearo and his first - and last - novel.

Comments

[Bob Randisi]

It should be pointed out that, in NY, auxiliary cops are not real cops. They wear uniforms, but they are not issued guns or vests. When I worked for the NYPD I always wondered what would make a person go out on the street dressed like that.

RJR

[John Cecil]

Rob, thanks for the explanation. Right when I read “auxiliary cop” I thought it must have been a creative adjective for an off duty cop or a bounty hunter. I have heard of an auxiliary fuse, or auxiliary key, but NY even has auxiliary cops? I guess it sounds better than supplemental police, “Auxiliary police freeze!” Don’t know… maybe civilian cop?

Wild stuff.

[Michelle Gagnon]

What a tragedy. Does killing an auxiliary cop carry the same additional charges? And what happened to the shooter?

[David J. Montgomery]

"And what happened to the shooter?"

His book is coming out later this year from Five Star.

[Bob Randisi]

Murder is murder, whether it was a cop or not.

RJR