Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Waverly Brown and Sergeant Edward O'Grady were shot and killed by heavily armed members of a domestic terrorist group, the Weather Underground, who had just robbed a bank and were attempting to escape. The suspects had just murdered an armored car guard and wounded two other guards before loading themselves into the back of a rental truck to be driven away by accomplices. The truck was stopped at a roadblock manned by several Nyack police officers on Route 59 just west of the New York Thruway. One of the female occupants in the cab of the truck told the officers their guns were making her nervous. Thinking they had stopped the wrong truck, the officers began to holster their weapons. Almost immediately afterward, several of the heavily armed men exited the back of the truck and opened fire with automatic weapons, fatally wounding Officer Brown and Sergeant O'Grady. The suspects fled the scene in different directions, but seven men and three women were eventually apprehended and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One of the women was paroled in August 2003. Another woman was released July 15, 2010, and died of cancer one month later. One of the men died in prison on December 13, 1986. The third female offender was granted parole in April 2019. A suspect convicted of killing Police Officer John G. Scarangella, of the New York City Police Department, was a prime suspect in the murders of Sergeant O'Grady and Officer Brown. When he was arrested for the murder of Officer Scarangella, he was in possession of a gun linked to the murders of Sergeant O'Grady and Officer Brown. That suspect was never charged in these murders. Another subject was placed on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List in 1982 for helping his sister, an accomplice in the New Jersey State killings, escape from prison in 1979. He was captured in 1986. The Weather Underground was also connected to the Black Liberation Army, which was responsible for the murders of at least one dozen other police offi
Survivors
Survivors include his mother and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-387F82D8- 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.
Police Officer Brown gave the Nyack Police Department 15 years.
Thank you for your service to the Nyack 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
Waverly L. Brown served in the Air Force (1956â1959) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Waverly L. Brown is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NY, 754 of 2,147 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 35.1% of this state's fallen. That is 19.1 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.
At Nyack Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Waverly L. Brown's cause is highlighted.
How Waverly L. Brown Compares
Offender Outcome
Paroled in 2003
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Waverly L. Brown is highlighted in Oct.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Waverly L. Brown was killed by rifle; automatic.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Nyack Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
