RIP, so far in the past 24 hours, Two police officers have been killed in the line of duty (NYPD, NCPD), 4 cops have been shot in Virginia(same incident), and one cop shot in Philadelphia, what is this world coming to?

This kid was a real mess, but it is a real shame that any officer had to be there at all last night. I blame the parents for not watching over thier child. If you are living in your parents home, the parents should know what kind of sick things this kid was into. I would know if one of my children was into worshiping satin, or having weapons in my house.You can't bash the MTA,those officers were there to help the nassau officers, and anyone in law enforcement would know that family disputes can always be deadly.Both Departments should be on the same page in those situations, and training together should be manditory.It was a very sad day for Nassau county PD and the NYPD yesterday, both losing a officer in the line of duty.If you look at this kids facebook page, you know there were warning signs....this kid was calling for attention and looking for trouble.It is a shame that all his little facebook friends don't have a clue about real life, and bashed the officers for doing thier jobs and protecting the public. They must have the same kind of parents that this little sick bastard had.

This MTA employee should go to jail for murder, and the people in charge of the MTA "family" should be right behind him. Really...how touching...they share their condolences! That would really comfort me if I just lost a loved one to a bullet. Especially knowing that the perpetrator was already out on "sick" leave, and trying to deal with "his" trauma, and already won't be facing "any" charges!

My sympathies go out to the family of Officer Breitkopf, and to the officer involved in his shooting death. Regardless of what you think of the MTA or the officer, he is responsible for taking a life, and that will stay with him for the rest of his.

The madness DiGeronimo created, was the work of a real beast, the aspiration of a man deluded that he was some kind of devil, the devil he ended up becoming in real life…

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/03/cop-dies-of-friendly-fire-after-deranged-occult-is-killed/

What happened to the comments here last night? Like Clem's. They were not offensive.

Notice on the articles dealing with teachers, everyone is allowed to speak their mind. But anything having to do with Nassau police, suddenly heavy-handed moderation and censure.

Services are set for fallen officer Geoffrey J. Breitkopf http://massapequa.patch.com/announcements/services-set-for-fallen-nassau-county-police-officer

Here's some of my comments that were deleted:

Maybe now the Public will stand up against the duplication of services by police agencies.

The 800-man MTA Police Department answered less than 200 calls last year -- that's one call every 1700 man-hours. And those calls are for things like Broken Escalators.

Responding to threatened cuts in their funding, the MTA Police are now responding to every call for every other agency they can.

This is an example of what happens when there are too many people in too many agencies trying to get involved.

The MTA is canceling trains and discontinuing bus lines. Their police department has swelled from 150 men to 800. It's time this duplication of services ended.

I'm sure the MTA could find someone without a gun and a $167,000 salary to check broken escalators.

My condolences go out to those suffering these losses, and to the families and men touched by this tragic mistake.

I hope the MTA cop was tested for drugs and or booze!!!

Doug Schlaefer, you failed to mention that you are a well known Port Washington Police buff who constantly lobbies for their raises and bigger budgets and lives in fear of a terrorist attack on Port Washington. No envy here, Doug; I've spent 30 years in real, paid law enforcement.

Let's get back to reality:

You don't think it's absurd to have an entire police department of 800 men to duplicate the services of other police departments?

You don't think it's absurd that this same agency only needed 143 cops twelve years ago but is still trying to expand after hiring an additional 655?

You don't think it's absurd that these 800 men answered EXACTLY 167 CALLS in 2010?

Well I know one cop who probably would have been better off without the MTA Police responding to all of Nassau County's calls.

Now say this argument has no merit.

My question is what right do the MTA police have responding to any calls that do not have anything to do with the MTA? Are the MTA police trained and equipt to handle 911 calls for Nassau/ Suffolk County? Considering the fact that the situation has been said to have been under control for over ten minutes, as well as common sense if no one else felt threatened by the NCPD officer what right do you have to do anything with out first identifying yourself and trying to defuse the situation without just shooting at anyone. Sounds to me like the MTA office decided to shoot first and ask questions later.

Does anyone really believe that the "MTA office decided to shoot first and ask questions later" ? Who would sign off on such a policy? Who would that reviews policy sign off on it ? Another unfounded statement by someone who is unwilling to reveal themselves, nothing more.

Someone lost their life, a family is devastated, how do these wreckless comments add to meaningful dialog?

I will not be commenting further on this matter. Thank you

All I know is the comments that PBA President James Carver made to newsday about the MTA cops and the retired NYPD cop are insulting to every police officer.He needs to shut his pompous desk jockey mouth.This guy is full of himself.He needs to stay in his office where its safe for cowards like him and just keep counting his money.Carver was not even there during this tragic event ,but yet talks like he saw the thing go down.Carver SHUT your mouth and stop being a rookie by talking to the press.Maybe the problem is your Supervisors aren't supervising your officers enough.He points blame at the MTA and the NYPD officer but what about Brieitkopf walking up to the scene with his M4 rifle out in plain clothes in the dark when the situation is already under control and over with.We know it was under control because officer Breitkopf was let out of the car while his partner took the time to park the car.Tragedy's like this don't need idiots like Carver spewing hate and blame around.He has no right to put down other police agency's when he hides behind a desk.

I heard Carvers comments on 1010WINS news.He stated the retired NYPD officer and the MTA officiers had no buisness being at the scene of this incident.Ok Mr. Carver next time Nassau officers chase a suspect into NYC or onto MTA property they should be told to get lost, they have no buisness here.When this poor officer is finally laid to rest we should have Mr. Molinet ask Mr. Carver 1)When the reponding officers arrived on scene and knew DiGeronimo was isolated and contained in his bedroom and posed no immediate threat to anyone but himself and were able to evacuate his parents safely why didn't they stay outside and wait for their ESU and Hostage Negotiators to arrive and do their thing.2)How long did it take for the first Supervisor to arrive on scene?3)What Supervisor took control of the crime scene and why did the Supervisor if he were there ,allow a civilian and other Police agency personel inside the crime scene perimeter.Sounds to me like a total break down of Supervision and the chain of command.So before Carver opens his mouth about who is to blame for this tragic incident look at your own Dept first.Remember Mr. Carver everybody lost in this incident.A disturbed kid lost his life,Parents lost a child,two officers have to live with killing the boy,a police officer has to live with killing a brother officer,a good cop was killed and a family has no husband and father.This is a fact.

This is just a tragedy for all the families and loved ones involved. Pointing fingers and assigning blame does not help this matter. We who read this story only know what we hear , we weren't there. Let the investigators do their jobs and let the speculators hold their tongues. Let the families grieve in peace and in private.

Michael, you are right....what a tragedy all the way around. Until the investigation is complete, let's stop the blame game and put our thoughts into grieving for the police officer and the mentally ill man who was killed and for the police officer who made such a horrible mistake. They and their families deserve this time to grieve without all the politics and posturing. I pray for all of them to have the strength to get through this. We can't be judge and jury. Let the facts play out.

I agree with many points that have been mde. I was stunned to see the comments of the PBA official. I know he made those comments because the fault is oging to lie with the fallen officer. It sad to say, but true. The situation was over and there was no need for any special weapons guys or ESU. The fact that his appearnace lead a retired cop to be alarmed and then two uniformed officer to challenge him lead me to two conclusions. The car they arrived in did not have any police lights on it, and that he failed to display his shield when he exited the car. It has happened before and other plainclothes cops have gotten shot because of it. It also appears that the MTA guys did challenge him and he did not respond appropriately, leading to a brief physical encounter and then the gun shot. Its a tragedy all around. The bottom line is that uniform offices are always premited to challenge plainclothes cops. I was stunned to know that the Nassau PD has guys that sole job is special weapons. Is this ESU or is this simply a weapons team. Where do we live Mexico City ?? There are so many barricade jobs in Nassau county that they need this unit.

Hey Jim, when your wife/daughter/sister is getting raped across the street from a railroad station and not on the LIRR, make sure you tell the MTA Police Officers to stay in the railroad and don't get invovled. You are so ignorant. Those police officers came to the aid of fellow Officers when it was reported on the Nassau radio they had in their car that there was a man with a knife that was being chased down Front Street. They arrived after the Nassau cops had shot the perp inside the house, but responded to assist in that incident. If they never responded and a Nassau cop was killed, then they would have been seen as lazy garbage cops who do nothing. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. And by the way, learn proper grammar and how to use "their elevator emergency" instead of "there elevator emergency". That inaccuracy alone speaks volumes...

Jeez,it is sad this death of a dedicated Public Servant. As a Former Marine with sadly Combat experience, note Fire Discipline is of the essence of any Citizen. It is obviously, to myself that the MTA had his own "mad minute" to coin a term. I have been involved in two shootings (off Duty).
Cleared of both. I followed procedure, I IDENTIFIED MYSELF! PANIC KILLS!
Clearly, as my experiences present to me, fire discipline is lacking in the metro NYC area!

I knew a Transit Cop, back in the 70's without ballistic protection took two rounds,,this knowing, that as a well trained MARINE he would have with most doubt would have popped a cap in the perp..civilians abound said area,,what did he do,,took acouple slugs,,,,,why because he, was not 100% certain that he could terminate the situation without possibly injuring or having a bystander being killed.

That is a professional!

This horrible outcome will no doubt be washed over the widow will get much monies an a Cop
that has not any confidence nor proper training nor fire discipline will go on working.
When one who holsters a pistol they must adhere to the highest standards! Not just making the LOW STANDARD GRADES, but the highest!

The MTA Cop Obviously had the "drop" did he ID himself? doubt it!

Should he be charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide? Absolutley YES!

Joe, I've worked closely with the MTA ninnys. Remember that these men are hired without any competitive testing. They are hired off the list, yes, but not in competitive order. They are essentially political appointees. Also remember that they last year answered one call every 1700 man-hours. They began responding to anything on Nassau and Suffolk's radio frequencies in an effort to quickly gain headlines to save their positions from MTA budget cuts.

They are the product of police buffs like Doug Schlaefer, whose posts here on patch indicate an obsession with fear of terrorists among us and an Aspergers Syndrome for police buffing. "...At any price is okay with me," he believes.

Bazooka Joe makes an excellent point. Had they not responded, they would have been viewed as "lazy loads..."

But Joe Boltz hits the nail on the head: "Fire Discipline," as you so rightly state, was lacking, as well as some level of Incident Command.

This is a tragedy. Lets not miss the opportunity to trim a bloated, ill trained department that exists only to duplicate the services of local departments and offer political patronage.

There must be some accountability for these fatal errors.

Hey JIM.....tell me about my stupidity pal. !!! I guess as a NCPD cop that makes you an expert on everything !!! Was I wrong about the rules of engagement about uniform officers and plain clothes cops.....was I wrong that uniform guys can challenge and plainclothes guys have to respons appropriately. What was I wrong about. Please enlightment us to your wisdom. Does nassau have a BSO thats is plainclothes and responds to shootings? is that there assignment. How fast does it take to race from bellmore to Mass park with a rifle, and why didnt the officer stop racign when the all clear was given. 12 minutes from the shooting of the kinife guy until this BSO guy pulls up with a rifle. He was in his quarters when the situation ended, but he still HAD to get there right? Please tell us your version Jim!!!

Keep it respectful or we'll close comments.

As I said before you can't blame the patrol officers or the MTA officer, I need to know where the Nassau Patrol Sergeant and the Platoon commander were during and after this incident and were they taking charge of the personel and the scene as their job requires one to do.Because if they were there taking charge and being the leaders their supposed to be,personel not condusive to the situation would have been told to leave the inner perimeter. thus removing the retired officer from the scene unless of course he is a witness and the MTA officers , and slowing down or if not cacelling the response of the BSO officers to the location.So lets stop calling people names these people would help you in your time of need regardless if they are MTA officers or retired officers.We need to ask the important questions and find out where the chain of command failed and fix it to prevent this from ever happening again.If you are Paid to be a LEADER then you have to LEAD.

Clem -

That crack about Asperger's Syndrome was totally unnecessary. If the man you're taunting is truly an Aspie, you've just been absolutely cruel to somebody who can't help the way he is and if he's not, you've slandered an entire group of people with a legitimate issue.

That said, I have been thinking about how the shooting of Officer Breitkopf could have happened. When I saw the photos of him with the long beard and the shaved head and muscular build, the thought occurred to me that if he showed up looking that way, in plainclothes and carrying a rifle, the MTA cops (who didn't know him, apparently the NC cops did) might have thought he was a skinhead buddy of DeGeronimo coming by to help out his friend. I don't know how he was dressed that night or if he had that beard, but to me, it looked like he was maybe doing undercover in a biker gang or a skinhead group.

Regardless, there were multiple tragedies that night. As the parent of an Aspie the age of Anthony DeGeronimo, my heart breaks for his parents; however, if he was truly charging down a narrow hallway with knives raised - the cop who shot him acted in a justifiable way. Who knew at the time whether or not he had a hostage in that room or someone who was wounded. He could have had a sibling in there or a friend or someone he'd snatched off the street and been holding in there.

Jane , all the information about who would possibly be in the room with the suspect would have or should have been gathered by the responding officers by talking to the parents as they were being safely removed from danger, all of this of course if the suspect in the course of removing the parents decides he wants to go on the attack holding knives in his hand in which case its better to judged by 12 then carried by 6

Jane,I totally agree with you on the misidentification of officer Brietkopf.The picture Newsday used on the cover is not a current up to date photo of what he looked like.

One of the local papers today had this to say:

"The ex-cop who yelled "gun" before a Long Island police officer was killed in a "friendly fire" shooting is a retired NYPD veteran who has an annoying habit of listening to scanners and racing to locations where police are called, sources said yesterday. John Cafarella, 58 -- a former Emergency Service Unit sergeant out of East New York -- has spent his three-year retirement nosing around crime scenes and offering unwanted help, the sources said. Nassau County detectives are investigating Cafarella's role in the tragedy that resulted in the death of Geoffrey Breitkopf, a plainclothes cop, who was shot and killed by an MTA cop as he approached a crime scene with a rifle hanging from his shoulder. "

So the theory is that if this guy had not yelled "gun" the MTA officer would not have shot at officer Breitkopf.

Linda as I stated, Who was in charge?What were they doing? Were they even there maintaining control?

If what you read is true, this guy should be arrested for Obstructing Govermental Administration for starters.

COP -

One of the articles I read indicated that the original responding cops might not have even known that those were his parents. Depending on the layout of the house and/or when the parents were home, they might not have known if Anthony had someone in his room.

I do agree that Anthony's death was a tragedy but my personal read, so far, is that the police might have been justified IF he was truly charging down the hallway with ANY of those knives I saw in the paper. I can't understand why something like that set of brass knuckles with bayonets sticking out of it is allowed to be sold!

Jane, I saw a magazine named BUD K I'm not sure they have a web site but I bet they do.Take a look at the knives you can purchase through the mail. It's crazy.

As far as brass Knuckle knives go, the NYS Penal law states brass knuckle or brass knuckle knife is classified as a deadly weapon and illegal to possess

The ultimate responsiblity lies with the cop who pulled the tigger. The retired ESU guy, if he is, is nut job buff. Keep in mind that the nassau cop is also an ESu guy and they love to play with their toys. No disrepesct intended, but why was he not in uniform . How does being plain clothes aid his job?

Ralph , I agree with you and I Have to agree with COP about what ,where and who was the head person in control at the scene.Why was plain clothes personel going to the house with weapons exposed well after the shooting was over.Nobody took control and called off the heavy weapons from responding from all over Nassau County and reminding the retired guy he's a civilian now to get lost.

I can see why "Clem" wants to keep his identity secret with the comments he made above. He has to resort to name calling in the absence of substanitive dialog. I am still waiting for some of that 30 years of police experience to uncover where I wanted big raises for the PWPD, or even commented on the matter of pay.

For an alledged former cop he sure has a beef with multiple police agencies or is it simply a case of police envy? Is Clem a cop, coward or classless, I say no, yes and yes as evidenced by his above comments and insensitivty to people with handicaps and while I appeciate Jane's comments I will not be taunted by this or any bully.

It is time for Clem to come out from the rock he is hiding under, reveal himself and debate me in public, anywhere local, then I can demonstrate to him how this "buff" as he describes me is going to "polish" him off in a debate on all matters municipal, it is time to prove your not a coward Clem.

I can be contacted at 944 9810 to set up the debate or in the alternative as someone you could well identify with Archie Bunker once said-stifle youself.

If the kid did not rush out of his room like a maniac with huge KNIVES in his hands, none of this would have happened. So sad for the officer & his family.

Cmac, the crazy part is if the boy doesn't jump on the womans car ,no call would have been made to 911.What a sad sad chain of events that happened.

nitestalker, your so right...Its just all wrong...

Ralph -

Officer Breitkopf wasn't wearing a traditional police uniform because it was his job to wear plainclothes. He apparently worked undercover and it's kind of hard to get bad guys to trust you if you're wearing the blue. His colleagues on NCPD, from what I've seen and heard, recognized him; it was the cops and retired cops at the scene who didn't.

Jane , The only thing troubling to me is why is Officer Brietkopf walking up to the location with his weapon out when the danger was already elminated. We know this from the radio transmissions printed in newsday.Did someone fail to let Officer Brietkopf know ,did he have his radio on.We know his partner let him out to go park the car so therefore it was not in the course of an emergency situation.It really is so bizarre to me how everything went wrong at the wrong time.

Officer is not an undercover officer. "Undercover" means he is a narcotics detective or someone who is trying not to look like a cop. If that was wnat he was looking for, he did a good job. He didnt look like a cop and he it cost him his life. If he didnt look like a cop then he should nt be running around with a rifle in his hands. Does anyone know what BOS does in nassau. Are they on patrol or do they wait at their quarters for a shooting or hostage situation. If so,,what a waste of manpower !!

Ralph first you state unequivocally what something means and then you go ahead to profess that you have no idea what you are talking about. So instead of further indicting yourself as another one of the Monday Morning Quarterbacks on here who are trying to portray themselves as authorities on something that they are clueless about, based on tidbits of information that have been scrounged from multiple sources that are probably not even reliable, why don't you just shut the heck up, roll up your keyboard, and let the authorities who actually know what happened, and know the law and who is responsible for what, investigate the matter and come to a determination of what happened and why. Until then all of these ridiculous baseless suppositions and sniping at each other as well as well as the participants of this tragedy is counterproductive and a tremendous waste of time because it solves absolutely nothing besides maybe stroking some of the egos of the sudden "authorities on everything" that have suddenly been born on these boards since this situation began. It sounds like there are a few here that have a law or police background that have a grasp of the situation. ( I don't but I have a family member that is an officer). But for the most part you all sound like you have been watching too many episodes of Law and Order, Quincy, and every other tv cop show and it somehow quailfies you as an expert. I got news for. You're wrong. This is real life and you just sound dumb!!!

Howie,,,,for you vocabulary list "undercover"..an officer pretending not to be a cop
"plainclothes" an officer who work in civilian attire like a detective of school officer. Plainclothes guys sometime known as anti crime or street crime drive around in an un marked vehicle and wear street clothes so they will not be noticed. When they exit the vehicl they immediately display their badge for all to see