Fallen Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa was remembered as a “great cop” and a “beautiful human being” as hundreds of her fellow officers gathered to attend her funeral Thursday, days after she was killed by an alleged drunken driver.
Officers from across Long Island and New York City stood in formation in subfreezing temperatures outside St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown Thursday morning. A police pipe and drum band played “Amazing Grace” as Espinosa’s coffin, draped in a thin-blue line flag, was carried into the church.
Espinosa, 42, was on her way to work at the Fifth Precinct when she was killed Saturday, after her Alfa Romeo was struck. Matthew Smith, 20, of Hauppauge, ran a red light and smashed into her vehicle in St. James, police said. Smith has been charged with drunken driving in the fatal crash and is expected to be arraigned Friday morning in First District Court in Central Islip, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Espinosa is survived by her husband, Nassau Police Officer Francisco Malaga, and their 2-year-old daughter, Mia.
During the funeral Mass, Espinosa’s friend Christian Obando addressed the packed church, saying, “I’m here to remind everyone of the beautiful human being she was, day in and day out.” Obando shared that he met her while working at the Fifth Precinct and that they bonded over their Ecuadorian heritage. He affectionately called her “Patty” and revealed that she always wanted to be a mother, nearly giving up on that dream before becoming pregnant with Mia.
“I know Mia will be in great hands with Patty watching over her and watching over Francisco,” Obando said. “We know Francisco will do the best job in being a father and reminding [Mia] of the beautiful, most loving person she had for her mother. I don’t know why God decided to take Patty from us so soon, but I’d like to think she had a higher calling we may never understand.”
Obando also spoke of Espinosa’s pride in her career and the accolades she received. “Patty was a great cop and I mean that in every sense of the word,” he said. “She loved this job and was so grateful for the opportunities it gave her in life. But what I think she loved the most was the people she worked with.”
The service was attended by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, and police commissioners from both counties.
“We’re all heartbroken,” Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said outside the church before the funeral began. “This is a tragedy that didn’t have to happen. This young lady went to go to work that morning to go serve the people of Nassau County, and her life was tragically taken from her. For her husband to be the first person on that scene only to stop and help and find out it was his wife, it’s a tough time for us.”
Espinosa’s brothers are also police officers: Nassau Police Officer Cristian Almeida and David Almeida of the Philadelphia Police Department. She served as the sergeant-at-arms for the Nassau Police Department’s Hispanic Society.
During the service, Blakeman recalled marching alongside Espinosa during the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan. “She was so proud of her heritage that we celebrated all people of Hispanic and Latino background that day, and it reminds us what a great police department we have since the tragic accident,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the family. Nothing we can say makes this right in our minds, except spirituality and belief in God. God rest your soul, faithful servant of Nassau County.”
Espinosa’s husband read Scripture in Spanish during the ceremony, which also included a reading from one of her brothers.
Nassau Police Chaplain Gerard Gordon shared that he had visited Espinosa’s family at their home in St. James on Sunday, gathering around the dinner table with members of the department to show support.
“You raised an exceptional family,” Gordon said he told her parents. “For that reason, you will get through this time of tragedy, but that will be done together as the family that your parents created.”
He added, “As we were sitting at the table, David lamented that the pain will never go away, the sting will go away, but there will always be a scar, always.”
Speaking outside the church, Gordon said the attendance of hundreds of fellow police officers demonstrated a “silent presence” of support for the family.
“They said that she was their second mother, because she was the oldest, and she really took care of all of the members of the family. They looked up to her as a mother and a sister,” he said. “As Catholics, our message of hope is that death is not the end. We are changed but not ended. They are very faithful. We prayed together at their home when she died.”
Among those present was Deborah Palermo, 57, of Huntington, who stood several feet away from the line of police and first responders in the church parking lot around 10:40 a.m., awaiting Espinosa’s family.
Palermo said she didn’t know Espinosa personally, but her late husband, Luis Palermo, had served in the Nassau County Police Department’s Third Precinct for 23 years. When he died in 2017 at age 49 due to 9/11-related illnesses, she said the Hispanic Society showed up for her and her family, describing them as her “blue family.”
“They were there for me during my toughest season,” Palermo said. “Now I’m here for them.”
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau-police-officer-patricia-espinosa-funeral-mass-smithtown-s36k6ztl
