On Mon., March 14, police from the Village’s Sixth Precinct, auxiliary police and family members of Nicholas Pekearo and Yevgeniy “Eugene” Marshalik gathered at Bleecker and Sullivan Sts. for the annual memorial for the two slain young auxiliary officers. Joining them at the simple, solemn ceremony were members of the Sixth Precinct Community Council, Bleecker Area Merchants and Residents’ Association and Community Board 2 and local politicians. Eight years ago, Pekearo, 28, a writer, and Marshalik, 19, an N.Y.U. student, lost their lives when they were out on the beat and confronted a wildly running gunman who had just fatally shot a pizza restaurant bartender on nearby W. Houston St. They struggled with him over a shoulder bag he had containing 100 bullets but, a former marine, he coldly killed them both. Police subsequently gunned down the murderer in a hail of bullets on Bleecker St. The volunteer officers are known as the “eyes and ears” of the police. Only a handful of them have been killed in the line of duty. In 2009, the intersection was named for the two slain heroes.
