Detective John C. Phillips was appointed to the Department on October 9th , 1963. He was killed in an auto accident on October 1st , 1981 at 2:30 a.m. Detective Phillips was a passenger in a car returning from a police investigation in the Bronx when it overturned on Shore Road after swerving to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
Detective Phillips was well-liked and respected by his superiors and fellow officers. “He was the key to my whole operation,” said his boss, Lieutenant William Crumm. “He was the type of Detective who you handed any type of case to, the most difficult ones-and he’d solve them.”
He was given top honors by the Citizens Award Committee in 1969 for capturing three armed robbery suspects. He received two Class C Citations and was commended for his fine work during the 1977 Valentine’s Day shooting spree at the Neptune World Moving Company. After a funeral at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, Detective Phillips was buried with full police honors at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
Each year, as part of National Police Week each May, the City of New Rochelle remembers the 8 New Rochelle police officers who died in the line of duty.