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Hours after a gunman opened fire inside a New York City high-rise office building on Monday, the news that an NYPD officer was among the victims rattled families of law enforcement throughout the nation.
36-year-old Didarul Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was working as a paid detail providing security to the office building – a common way for uniformed NYPD officers to earn overtime pay.
“This officer was just trying to make a couple extra dollars to pay the bills,” NYPD Sgt. Joe Imperatrice, co-founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC, told Fox News Digital. “And he ends up getting killed by a person that was absolutely deranged, which is even more sad because he didn’t have to be there.”
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Islam encountered the shooter, 27-year-old Shane Tamura, in the lobby of the office building, who immediately opened fire on the uniformed officer, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Islam, along with three other people in the building, were killed in the attack.
Islam was a four-year veteran of the department and the father to two children, with a third on the way.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice,” Tisch said. “Shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city.”
The NYPD and the New York City Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Imperatrice pointed to the events that likely transpired in the immediate aftermath of Islam’s death between law enforcement and his immediate family, as officials met with the officer’s loved ones to deliver the tragic news.
“They send officers to the house to pick up the family and let them know something happened,” Imperatrice said. “They don’t normally just come out and say the worst. They say, ‘Listen, something’s happened,’ and they end up bringing the family to the hospital.”
Once at the hospital, the family likely met with high-level New York City officials, mental health counselors and clergy upon receiving the news that their loved one was killed.
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“That’s the hardest thing for these families,” Imperatrice told Fox News Digital. “They didn’t think for one second that their son, husband or father wasn’t going to come home when they walked through those doors. They thought it was a normal day.”
The reality facing countless families of law enforcement throughout the nation is one that can keep them living in constant fear of the unthinkable, with tragedy leading to a very public grieving process.
“When tragedy strikes, their grief is compounded by the public nature of the loss,” Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist and author of “Therapy Nation,” told Fox News Digital. “They mourn privately while also feeling the weight of their loved one’s role as a public servant. This can bring pride and comfort, but it can also create pressure to remain strong and composed when inside they may feel shattered.”
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In the wake of losing an officer to such senseless violence, Tisch is being heralded for her response in a time of crisis.
“She lost one of her cops,” Imperatrice said. “You know, being the head of the largest police department in the world, you’re going to be rattled.”
The praise is echoed by Alpert, who cites the department’s shielding of Islam’s family in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
“From what we’ve seen, Commissioner Tisch and the NYPD moved quickly to provide support, protect the family’s privacy, and honor the officer’s sacrifice,” Alpert said. “Shielding the family in those first hours is important. It allows them to begin processing their grief without being immediately thrust into the public eye, and it sends a clear message that they are not alone.”
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In a show of strength, Tisch stood alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams and PBA President Patrick Hendry to offer the department’s condolences to Islam’s family.
“He died as he lived,” Tisch said. “A hero.”
In the wake of Islam’s tragic murder, Imperatrice insists the death of a fellow officer reopens old wounds for members of law enforcement everywhere, especially one year after NYPD officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed in the line of duty.
“You pray to God, you pray to every star that we are never going to get that phone call,” Imperatrice said. “But once again, the sea of blue is going to come out from all across the nation. It’s going to send a lightning bolt through everyone’s spine and [they will] realize how precious life is but how evil life can be as well.”
Islam is one of four victims gunned down by the shooter, with authorities identifying security officer Aland Etienne, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and an unnamed Rudin employee among the deceased.
However, Imperatrice stresses that Islam will be memorialized as a hero by the NYPD and his loved ones will always have the backing of the department.
“[Islam’s] name is going to be put on so many different walls, so he’s basically immortal,” Imperatrice said. “But the family just gained over 30,000 officers that are going to be their new family – brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles – and they’re going to be by their side, at their beck and call, through their hardest times during the first couple of days and weeks until the end of time.”
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