The NYPD’s Police Academy was officially renamed Thursday after one of the department’s most storied fallen heroes who inspired his brothers in blue by spreading a message of forgiveness – even to the teen who nearly took his life.
The sprawling 30-acre Queens campus, responsible for the training of New York’s Finest, now bears the name of Det. Steven D. McDonald – 42 years to the day that he joined the academy.
“I know that it would be Steven’s wish and prayer that the women and men who enter this academy will always be very proud of putting on their uniforms and going out into the streets of this great city to serve and protect others — especially the most vulnerable, and most importantly, to finish their tour safely and to go home to their loved ones,” said the hero detective’s widow, Patti Ann McDonald.
McDonald had only two years on the job in July 1986 when a 15-year-old robbery suspect shot him three times in Central Park – with one of the bullets shattering the then-29-year-old cop’s spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
McDonald, though wheelchair-bound and hooked up to a breathing device, lived for over three more decades, even forgiving the teen who nearly took his life, Shavod Jones.
“For 30-and-a-half years confined to a wheelchair, Dad never gave up. He believed that his story of love, forgiveness, and perseverance could change not only New York City, but the world,” said his son, NYPD Capt. Conor McDonald, now an executive officer for the department’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. “That’s how special and contagious my father’s love was.
“My dad told me that he kept living not only for our family, but also to honor the cops that never made it home,” he added, as a nod to those present whose loved ones were killed in the line of duty.
During the unveiling, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed that the academy now features an exhibit that displays McDonald’s wheelchair and ventilator, replicas of his shields and photos from the days he was promoted.
“Steven understood what this place represented, the future of the department, and the beginning of a life in service to New York City,” the top cop said. “It is fitting then that a new exhibit inside of this academy will preserve pieces of Steven’s own life and career.
“What he endured, what he made of it, and what he gave this department could have come only from him,” she added. “Forty-two years ago today, Steven McDonald’s career began at the police academy. From this day forward, his example will begin here too.”
Seven new signs bearing McDonald’s name were also added to the state-of-the-art training facility, funded by the New York City Police Foundation, a spokesperson said.
The academy’s new name was ceremonially unveiled as onlookers applauded and bag pipers played.
“What a gift that his love for this institution will live on in the generations of graduates who will find strength in his example,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
“As each class of officers graduate, they will face the difficult situations that their training prepared them for, and as they walk the beat, as they weigh what is right and wrong, as they search for the strength to go on, they will be guided by Detective McDonald’s legacy, and our city will be all the better for it.”
