TESTIMONIALS – The History of Policing in the City of New York

Testimonial of Keith Casey Re: Eugene Casey Articles on www.NYPDHistory.com

From the time of my easiest memories growing up in my house, was an old black and white photograph, hanging on a wall, of some policemen receiving a medal, in a ceremony in some park somewhere, many, many years ago. I was told that one of the men in this photo was my great-grandfather, Eugene C. Casey. No one knew when, where or why this photo was taken.

In August 2016, while sitting in my living room and looking at that same 108 year old photograph of my great-grandfather, I decided to “google” his name. Being a former member of the NYPD (1992-2012), I always felt a connection to him, even though he passed away long before I was born.

Much to my surprise, many articles popped up about him, most of them on the www.NYPDhistory.com website.

I knew a little info. about him. I knew that his name was Eugene C. Casey; that he was a member of the NYPD from 1895 to 1934; that he was born in Cullen, County Cork, Ireland in 1869; and that he immigrated to the U.S.in 1886.

After reading the fantastic articles that I found on this site, I now know much more about him and his life as a policeman! He was hired as a Patrolman in 1885, was assigned to the Bicycle Squad in 1897, was promoted to Roundsman in 1901, Sergeant in 1905, and Lieutenant in 1913. Unbeknownst to me and my family, my great-grandfather was the first NYPD Policeman to ride a Motorcycle in the performance of his duties as, in 1907, speeding automobiles were becoming a problem in the city. My grandfather, and his partner, were the first to use motorcycles and automobiles to enforce the traffic laws in New York City! He also participated in motorcycle races sponsored by the department and received several medals for not only the races, but for his work, including having been the first to be awarded a medal donated to the police department by the Automobile Club of America, in 1908. This is how I found out that the old police photograph that I have hanging on my wall, is apparently from 1908 & shows Eugene C. Casey being awarded the Automobile Club of America Medal.

After contacting, and speaking with the administrator and author of the articles on the website, Pat Storino, I was given even more information about my great-grandfather. Pat was kind enough to send me copies of all of the newspaper articles, photographs, and sourced that he used to write the several articles which appear on his site www.NYPDhistory.com relating to my great-grandfather’s career.

These discoveries are a treasure trove of family history for me and my family. I knew he was a special guy, but the rest of my family really had no idea that there was so much history involved with him.

I can’t thank Pat Storino enough for all his help and information shared by him.

Sincerely,

/s/

Keith Casey

Long Island, New York

September 22, 2016