Shantay L. Neal-Baker was born in New York City, the seventh of eleven children of the late Rev. Ollie Neal and Judy Neal, who were also her first pastors. She earned an associate's degree in business management and a bachelor of science degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She sang throughout her life, in church and in choirs and singing groups, and enjoyed karaoke, movie trivia and travel.
She worked as an NYPD police communications technician before she was appointed to the force on 22 July 2002. She served in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, the 73 Precinct, the 90 Precinct, the Employee Management Division and the Civilian Monitoring Unit of the Performance Analysis Section, where she advised members of the service on New York State disciplinary guidelines. She received her gold shield on 24 February 2017. She was an officer of the Policewomen's Endowment Association, a member of the Guardians and a peer-support member for the department's Health and Wellness Section, and she took part in many charity events, especially those fighting lupus, a disease she had that weakened her immune system. Friends called her "Ms. Sunshine."
Detective Neal-Baker was serving in the Risk Mitigation Division when she died of COVID-19 on 14 August 2021, during the pandemic, shortly before her 43rd birthday. She was survived by her mother, her husband, retired Detective Jeff Baker, their three children, her siblings and a large extended family. She is buried at St. Paul's Cemetery in Archer, Alachua County, Florida. In her memory her sister Trina created "Tay Day," a lupus awareness walk.
