Roll of Honor
Incident
Inspector Thomas Boylan was killed when cargo from a crashing airplane struck his police vehicle in Jamaica, Queens. At approximately 8:25 am, Inspector Boylan and a Patrolman were on patrol when without warning, a C-46 cargo plane the missed the runway at Idlewild Airport (now JFK International Airport), suddenly plunged into a row of houses on 169th Street and 88th Avenue, directly in front of them. Debris from the plane struck the patrol car killing Inspector Boylan. The patrolman survived the incident. Inspector Boylan was the commanding officer of the 22nd Police Division in Queens. In February 1954 a Police Athletic League youth center was named in Inspector Boylan's honor. Inspector Boylan had served with the New York City Police Department for 30 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-F96092CE- 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
30 years. You could have gone home.
Inspector Boylan gave the New York City Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Inspector Boylan.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Inspector Thomas V. Boylan is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At New York City Police Department, 283 of 1237 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 22.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas V. Boylan's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas V. Boylan Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas V. Boylan is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
