NYPD Officer Edward Byrne's murderer up for parole this month
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The man accused of murdering an NYPD officer in the 1980s is up for a parole hearing this month.
David McClary has served 36 years of a maximum life sentence for the murder of Officer Edward Byrne.
"That was one of Eddie's shields," said Ken Byrne, the officer's brother. "That's the Medal of Valor he got. We kept all of this. We'll keep it forever."
Mementos and memories are all Ken has left of his older brother.
"My brother has always been my rock and he was my hero," Ken said.
Edward joined the NYPD at just 20.
"I remember him in full dress uniform in front of the Christmas tree, and my parents taking that picture," Ken said. "They were just so happy and so proud, and so was he."
By February, just four days after his 22nd birthday, the rookie cop would lose his life.
Eyewitness News camera footage from 1988 shows Officer Byrne's shot-up patrol car.
He was shot five times in the head in a sneak attack in South Jamaica, Queens.
It happened while he was sitting in his vehicle, guarding the home of a witness in a drug case.
"It was a horrible scene, we were in shock. It was just beyond devastation, you can't process it," Ken said.
Decades later, the trigger man, convicted killer David McClary, is up for parole, for the eighth time.
"This is always a difficult process because every two years with the parole board we have to relive everything," Ken said.
"I think that he should be denied," said Melinda Katz, Queens District Attorney. "When you shoot an officer in this way, which is absolutely meant to send a very clear message that the police aren't in control in the city, that law enforcement isn't in control of the city. You should serve your time."
If released, the PBA said McClary would become the 44th convicted killer of a New York cop to be released from prison in the last eight years.
"Allowing 43 cop killers back on the streets since 2017 is a shame and it should've never happened," said Patrick Hendry, PBA President.
Hendry, who works in the same 103rd precinct as Byrne did, said the union has already collected 17,000 petitions to keep McClary behind bars.
"Our parole board needs to be overhauled. They have watered down standards now," Hendry said.
"It's very clear. There's no remorse. He still denies the involvement in the crime," Ken said. "They all made voluntary statements. They admitted what they did. A week prior, they all sat around the table having drinks, and they drew straws deciding who the shooter would be, and it was McClary."
His murder stunned the city, prompted nationwide outrage, and became a signature moment in the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
Every year, a memorial is held at the spot in Jamaica where he was killed.
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