Detective Joseph D. Taylor

Joseph D. Taylor

Detective Joseph Taylor was shot and killed after he and another officer responded to a call of a man with a firearm inside an apartment at 14 Linden Street in Brooklyn.

When Detective Taylor and the other officer arrived, they entered the building with guns drawn and positioned themselves at opposite sides of the apartment door. The officers knocked on the door and announced themselves as police officers. The door suddenly opened and two blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun were fired by the suspect. One blast struck Detective Taylor in the chest, killing him.

The other officer emptied his gun and Detective Taylor's gun into the apartment. When the officer entered the apartment he found one suspect dead, another wounded, and two suspects uninjured. It was later determined that the wounded suspect was the man who had fired the shot that killed Detective Taylor. The subject, a 22-year-old reputed drug dealer, should have been in jail. Warrants for failure to appear in court on weapons charges were issued five days earlier. Police received them right after Detective Taylor was killed. Drugs and $5 million dollars were found inside his apartment.

He was convicted of murder, three drug charges, and sentenced to 25 years to life. He was paroled on May 21, 2020, and deported.

Detective Taylor had served with the New York City Police Department for nine years and was assigned to the 83rd Precinct. He was survived by his wife and daughter.