Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Thomas Burke suffered a fatal heart attack while engaging in a community policing activity with two children.
The children were flying a kite very close to overhead electrical wires in front of the of the Beerston Precinct police barracks on Route 10 in Beerston, New York. Patrolman Burke advised them not to fly the kite so close to the wires and then walked them to a field across the street from the barracks. He fixed the tail on the children's kite and then ran up the field twice, showing the children how to fly it. He returned the kite to the children then suddenly collapsed.
One of the children ran to her parent's house while the other ran to the police barracks. Other officers responded to the location where they found Patrolman Burke had died.
Patrolman Burke had served with the New York City Bureau of Water Supply Police Department for 11 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, and four sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-B1CBF9CB- 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 Burke gave the New York City Board of Water Supply Police 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Grahamsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Burke.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Thomas North Burke 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 City Board of Water Supply Police, 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. Thomas North Burke's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas North Burke Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas North Burke is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from New York City Board of Water Supply Police are honored on badge.nw.
