Friends, family and fellow cops turned out to honor 52nd Precinct police officer Eric Hernandez, who was accidentally killed by colleagues during a fight with a group of men at a local White Castle restaurant in 2006.

During the ceremony on Saturday, July 28, just outside of the 52nd Precinct, the corner of Webster Avenue and Mosholu Parkway North was dedicated as “Police Officer Eric Hernandez Memorial Corner.”

“I stand alongside members of the 52nd Precinct (with) your pain, your suffering and it’s my honor today to stand alongside the members . . . to share in this remembrance,” said Inspector Joseph Dowling, the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct.

Councilman Oliver Koppell who was instrumental in getting the street renaming approved by the City Council, told the crowd, “Only very special people can be memorialized and remembered by having a street or a square named after them, and Eric Hernandez was one of those people.”

“The sign,” Koppell continued, “will be there for eternity, we hope. To show the appreciation of the city and particularly this community, for the work he did.”

Koppell ended on the topic of gun violence. “We only need to read the terrible headlines, even today, a 14-year old cut down by bullets, a young life ended needlessly,” he said, referring to Bronx teenager Kemar Brooks who was found shot to death in Haffen Park. (Hernandez was shot to death by fellow police officers after reportedly pointing his own gun at someone who was attacking him and then refusing to drop his weapon.)

NYPD Captain George Burke, who’s also the captain of the NYPD football team, praised Hernadez’s work on the gridiron.

“Eric only played for one year with the police department football team and in that one year, he rushed for 1,000 yards, brought us a victory over the fire department and we won the national championship,” Burke said.

“It’s a team thing,” Burke added. “But if Eric wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Later, his voice choked up with emotion, Burke said, “A day doesn’t go by at the team that Eric’s name doesn’t come up.”

Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association offered, “When this sign is unveiled, every police officer in the future, every young man or lady who dons the uniform of an NYPD police officer, will know that a fine, professional police officer… a great man walked up these steps to do the difficult job.”

After the unveiling, Hernandez’ father Efrin called the event, “bitter sweet,” before stating, “What this sign means to me is the legacy of my son Eric.”

Efrin Hernandez added, “The fact that it’s across the street from this precinct, the fact that it’s across the street from a school [PS 20], means a lot to me.”

Hernandez, 24, died days after being shot by fellow police officers after Hernandez had been involved in an altercation with a group of men at the White Castle on Webster Avenue.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.