Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant David Pettigrew suffered a fatal heart attack while making an arrest at a large disturbance. He had responded to the Moose Club at 300 West Merrick Road with other officers to quell a disturbance. While at the scene, Sergeant Pettigrew was arresting a suspect for assaulting another officer when he suffered a heart attack and died. Sergeant Pettigrew was a WWI veteran and had served with the Freeport Police Department for 11 years.
Survivors
He was survived by is wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-01E981C6- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Pettigrew gave the Freeport Police Department 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Freeport community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
David Cairns Pettigrew served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant David Cairns Pettigrew 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 Freeport Police Department, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Cairns Pettigrew's cause is highlighted.
How David Cairns Pettigrew Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. David Cairns Pettigrew is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Freeport Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
