Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Plato Arvanitis and Patrolman George Bishop were killed in a helicopter accident while on a traffic surveillance flight. The helicopter crashed into the East River near the Manhattan Bridge approximately two hours into the flight. The body of Patrolman Arvanitis was located shortly after the crash. Patrolman Bishop's body was recovered on May 17, 1968. Patrolman Arvanitis had been with the New York City Police Department for 12 years and was assigned to the Aviation Unit.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-00DD39F2- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Arvanitis gave the New York City Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Arvanitis.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Plato B. Arvanitis is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At New York City Police Department, 283 of 1237 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 22.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Plato B. Arvanitis's cause is highlighted.
How Plato B. Arvanitis Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Plato B. Arvanitis is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
