The body of the Bronx cop who was ambushed and killed by an unhinged Las Vegas security guard during the Midtown mass shooting on Monday evening was released to his family on Tuesday afternoon.
Police brass lined up outside the Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Kips Bay late on July 29 along with hundreds of officers to pay their respects to Police Officer Didarul Islam, who is being described as a devoted husband and a hero.
“He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm’s way; he made the ultimate sacrifice,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said hours after he was killed, “Shot in cold blood and wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived: a hero.”
During the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Islam’s body had been taken to the Medical Examiner’s office on East 30th Street and 1st Avenue to be examined.
The transfer from the Medical Examiner’s office to the family allows for the preparation of the slain officer’s funeral to begin. Tuesday afternoon’s ceremony was another rite in the NYPD’s ceremonial ritual of mourning an officer killed in the line of duty.
The ceremony was attended by Commissioner Tisch, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Chief of Department John Chell, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry, and more.
“Our brother should have gone home to the Bronx last night to embrace his family. Instead, his fellow New York City police officers are carrying him home, and we are going to embrace his family as if they are our own,” Hendry told amNewYork.
Draped in an NYPD flag, Officer Islam’s remains were wheeled out of the office and into an awaiting ambulance under the salute of fellow cops. As a part of a convoy. His body was then transported to the Maajid Funeral Home in the Bronx, where preparations will be made for the final send-off.
Islam was serving as part of a paid detail and in full uniform during a security shift inside 345 Park Ave. when Shane Tamura entered the building and immediately gunned him down before going on to take three other lives before turning the rifle on himself.
The exact funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.
