NYPD officer Deon L. Taylor killed in Afghanistan

**2 Blue 4 U** · #1 10-23-08, 06:34 PM

My condolences to his family and friends, May he Rest in Peace

NYPD officer Deon L. Taylor killed in Afghanistan; Brooklyn narcotics cop was serving in army
By ALISON GENDAR, KERRY BURKE and STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Thursday, October 23rd 2008, 6:06 PM

P.O. Deon Taylor

An NYPD police officer serving with the New York National Guard was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Deon Taylor, 30, of the Bronx, was a narcotics officer in Brooklyn serving with the New York National Guard as a fire direction specialist. It was his second deployment to Afghanistan.

"We are just holding on to God right now. We are in disbelief and in deep grief," said Det. Mo Weathers, Taylor's uncle and a 20-year veteran of the police department.

"He helped his community and this country and gave his life for his country," Weathers said.

Taylor, who is engaged with an 8-year-old son, joined the NYPD in 2005 and worked in the transit bureau before joining the narcotics team last year.

"Narcotics is very dangerous," Weathers said. "Deon wanted to make a change in the community and see a change by taking drug dealers off the streets."

In Afghanistan, Taylor's mission was to help train Afghan security forces. He was planning to get married in August of next year.

A graduate of Old Westbury College in Long Island, Taylor was a huge Knicks fan.

"I can't even say how proud we are of him - it's not even a word," Weathers said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said there are 258 police officers currently on military leave. Taylor is the third NYPD police officer to die serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"Like so many of his fellow officers, Deon Taylor courageously served his city at home and his nation abroad," Kelly said.

Mayor Bloomberg said "my thoughts are prayers are with him and his loved ones during this difficult time."

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...ed_in_afg.html

**Jenna** · #2 10-23-08, 06:50 PM

Rest in peace.

**Buttercup** · #3 10-23-08, 07:12 PM

RIP

**CTR man** · #4 10-23-08, 08:32 PM

My condolences to all the usual people and Thank You for your Service, Ofc. Taylor. Freedom isn't Free.

**BigDawg** · #5 10-23-08, 09:09 PM

RIP my Brother

**10-42Adam** · #6 10-24-08, 01:12 AM

RIP

**Odd** · #7 10-24-08, 01:57 AM

Rest easy Officer Taylor

**armsmaster270** · #8 10-24-08, 03:54 PM

Rest in Peace my Brother

**2 Blue 4 U** · #9 11-06-08, 11:17 PM

Deep Blue sea of sorrow: City pays tribute to Deon Taylor
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, November 6th 2008, 11:46 PM

Watts/News
Deon Taylor’s coffin is carried from Riverside Church.

A sea of NYPD blue and Army green filled the street outside a Harlem church on Thursday as the city paid tribute to Sgt. Deon Taylor.

Taylor, a 30-year-old undercover narcotics officer from the Bronx who also served in the New York Army National Guard, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last month.

PHOTOS FROM DEON TAYLOR'S FUNERAL http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...on_taylor.html

"When a member of New York's Finest dies - whether on the streets of New York or 7,000 miles away in a foreign country - a part of our city dies with them," Mayor Bloomberg said at Taylor's funeral at Riverside Church.

Taylor was killed in western Afghanistan on Oct. 22, just as he was nearing the end of his deployment and planning an August wedding to his fiancee, Caitlin Casey.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Taylor, who joined the NYPD in 2005, made a difference in his short time on the force.

"He took the most dangerous drugs off the streets, along with [obtaining] crucial evidence that led to search warrants," Kelly said. "He did it all while remaining modest, polite and respectful of others."

The ceremony was full of songs and prayers - and even laughter as Taylor's friends and family recalled his short, but distinguished, life.

Childhood friend Bruce Jackson said Taylor would beat him at just about everything they did.

"He was always telling me, 'Who's the man?'" Jackson said.

"But what I couldn't tell you in life, I'm proud to tell you in death: Deon, you are the man and it was an honor to have walked in your shadow."