Roll of Honor
Incident
Investigator Thomas O'Neill suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after a struggle with a suspect.
Investigator O'Neill was on duty and had stopped his department Vehicle at a Mobil Gas Station on Wicks Road in Islip. While at the station, the station attendant asked Investigator O'Neill to remove a disorderly man from the station who was refusing to leave. A struggle ensued, and Investigator O'Neill was able to get the suspect handcuffed. He then called for an additional unit to transport the suspect.
Two troopers transported the suspect back to the Brentwood Station, and a third trooper accompanied Investigator O'Neill in his vehicle. While en route, Investigator O'Neill complained of chest pains and asked the other trooper to drive. When they arrived at the Brentwood station, Investigator O'Neill collapsed. He was helped up by other troopers but collapsed again as an ambulance arrived. Efforts to revive him with CPR were unsuccessful. Investigator O'Neill died while en route to the Hospital.
Investigator O'Neill had served with the New York State Police for 33 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two stepsons, two grandchildren, a brother, and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-BD0D390D- 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
33 years. You could have gone home.
Senior Investigator O'Neill gave the New York State Police 33 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the people of New York. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Senior Investigator O'Neill.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Senior Investigator Thomas M. O'Neill is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NY, 99 of 2,147 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.6% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At New York State Police, 4 of 171 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas M. O'Neill's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas M. O'Neill Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas M. O'Neill is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
170 officers from New York State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
