Roll of Honor
Frank J. Donato, Jr.
Incident
Police Officer Frank Donato suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after being involved in a skirmish with a large group of people in the parking lot of the Bear Mountain Inn, in Bear Mountain State Park.
He and other officers had gone to the scene to investigate reports of a disturbance in the parking lot of the inn's disco. Some of the juveniles at the scene became combative and a scuffle ensued.
Officer Donato returned to the station where he collapsed several minutes later. An officer immediately began administering oxygen as an ambulance responded to the scene. Officer Donato was transported to a local hospital where he died a short time later.
Officer Donato had served in law enforcement for 24 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-CDA14954- 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
24 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Donato gave the Palisades Interstate Park Police Department 24 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Bear Mountain community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Donato.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Frank J. Donato, Jr. 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 Palisades Interstate Park Police Department - New York Section, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frank J. Donato, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Frank J. Donato, Jr. Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Frank J. Donato, Jr. is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Palisades Interstate Park Police Department - New York Section are honored on badge.nw.
