The former president carried the badge of a slain police officer with him during his campaign and then on his desk in the Oval Office.
During his four years in the White House, a lot of things ended up on President George H. W. Bush’s desk.
But one of the items he held most dear belonged to someone he never met — the badge of rookie NYPD Police Officer Edward Byrne, who was murdered by drug runners in 1988.
The former president — who died Friday at 94 — carried Byrne’s shield with him during his campaign and kept it on his desk in the Oval Office.
“He was really deeply affected by what happened to Eddie and he was committed to doing all he could to keep cops safe,” Byrne’s brother, retired NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Lawrence Byrne said Saturday. “It was frankly very comforting to know that he had Eddie’s badge on his desk. It meant that every day he thought about him and all the law enforcement officers out there who are put in harm’s way.”
Police Officer Edward Byrne was shot to death on orders from notorious drug dealer Howard (Pappy) Mason as he guarded the Queens home of a witness known only as Arjune, a Guyanese immigrant, on Feb. 26,1988. He was just 22 years old.
