John D. Pollins

John D. Pollins served in the United States Army during the Korean War and was a member of the 369th Artillery of the National Guard. He joined the New York City Police Department on 8 May 1961, was made a detective while serving in the 28th Precinct in Harlem, and in the autumn of 1966 was assigned to the Narcotics Bureau, carrying shield 1968. Colleagues remembered him as a great man who kept everyone laughing and loved to sing.

Late on the night of 13 March 1967 he and his undercover team, Detective Thomas Watkins and Patrolman Cecil Shand, went to arrest a drug dealer named Clarence Taylor in a basement apartment at 77 East 124th Street in East Harlem. As Pollins and Watkins went in, Taylor fired a sawed-off shotgun, hitting Pollins in the face and upper body. Shand was hit too as he ran to help. Though both were wounded, Watkins and Shand chased Taylor down a block away and held him. Detective Pollins was taken to the Hospital for Joint Diseases, where he died after surgery at a quarter past three on the morning of 14 March 1967. He was 36.

The 369th marched at his funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Harlem on 20 March 1967. He was survived by his wife, Tanyia, and their nine-year-old son, Kevin. In September 1971 a police launch was named in his honour.

Detective John Pollins was shot and killed when he and two other officers when to arrest a suspect on a warrant for selling narcotics. Detective Pollins and two other officers went to the suspect's apartment in a building at the corner of East 124th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan. Detective Pollins and another officer entered the suspect's apartment while the third officer stood guard outside. As Detective Pollins entered the apartment, the suspect fired two shots from a 16-gauge shotgun, striking Detective Pollins in the face and wounding the other officers. The suspect, 57, then fled from the location on foot, firing at the officers as he ran. One shot wounded the third officer at the scene. Despite their injuries, the officers were able to apprehend the suspect after a short chase. Detective Pollins was transported to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for his wounds, but he died early the next day. Detective Pollins had served with the New York City Police Department and was assigned to the Narcotics Division. He was survived by his wife and son. A police boat was named in Detective Pollins' honor.