NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Honors Fallen Officer Didarul Islam At His Funeral

Forbes Breaking News

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks at the funeral for fallen Officer Didarul Islam, who was killed in the Midtown Manhattan mass shooting.

Transcript

00:00To the people of Park Chester, to Imam Bolana Mohammed Maynul Islam, and the entire Park Chester

00:17Jameh Masjid family, thank you for your graciousness, for your compassion, and for welcoming us

00:24into your community. Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, thank you for being here with us. To Jamila,

00:34Ayan, and Azan, to Mohammed and Benara, to Naima and Nadima, to all extended family and friends,

00:45to police officers from the 4-7 precinct, across the department, and around the nation, and to

00:51every person, mourning with us today, on behalf of the entire New York City Police Department,

00:58I extend to you my deepest and most sincere condolences.

01:04Three days ago, time was moving fast for Diderul Islam. His two young boys were growing quickly,

01:11getting bigger and more independent every day. And in just a few weeks, another blessing was

01:17on the way. His sons were eager to meet their new baby brother, to teach him, and to keep him safe.

01:24But of course, Dider would be there to help with all that. After all, he was a New York City cop,

01:31and protecting people was what he did, so his boys, they wouldn't have to grow up too fast,

01:36their baba would be there. And then, in one shattering, incomprehensible instant,

01:43time stopped. A killer on a self-centered, senseless crusade of violence took the lives

01:50of four innocent New Yorkers. He tore a father from his children, a husband from his wife,

01:57a son from his family, and in that moment, he ripped the world away from everyone who knew and loved

02:04NYPD police officer, Diderul Islam. He was a son of two cities, born in Salet, Bangladesh,

02:14called to New York at the age of 20 by the promise of a better life. And he would build that life

02:20and fulfill that promise through service. He joined the NYPD first as a school safety agent in 2019

02:28and became a police officer two years later. In his own words, the police were a blanket of the

02:35community there to provide comfort and care. And when he joined this department, he made that

02:42his personal responsibility. But it was the man beneath the shield, steady in spirit, generous in

02:50presence, who left the deeper imprint. No one saw that more clearly than his partner, Pablo.

02:58At first, Dider was rotating through partners like most New York City cops do. But despite everything

03:04that set them apart, he and Pablo found something that brought them together. Pablo was from the

03:11Dominican Republic, who was raising two daughters. Dider was from Bangladesh, raising two sons.

03:18Two journeys, two traditions, two lives shaped continents apart. Yet here in this city, they found a bond as

03:27strong as family, a connection born of faith, carried by trust, and rooted in the values that they both

03:34lived by. And that is the most New York story there is. Because only in this city do two people from

03:43opposite ends of the earth end up in the same RMP, watching each other's backs. Only in this city do those

03:50differences become strength. Only in this city does a partnership like that feel not just possible, but

03:58inevitable. Pablo put it so simply, everything you can ask for in a partner, he was just that.

04:06But as much as this job meant to Dider, his true measure was found in the beautiful life that he

04:13built beyond it. He talked often about his wife, his kids, his mortgage, as reminders of what he was

04:22working for. And he never stopped working for them. 12-hour tours in a busy precinct, extra shifts, paid

04:29money, paid, paid, and paid. Last Sunday, he was out at the Dominican Day Parade working more than a full tour.

04:36And on Monday, the day that he was killed, he picked up work at 345 Park Avenue to bring home just a little

04:43more. Because that's who he was. He didn't look for an easier way, he just showed up and he did the work.

04:51There's a quiet dignity to that, a quiet dignity.

04:55Everything for him was about building something for his family, for his mosque, for his adopted city,

05:03and for his relatives back in Bangladesh.

05:06They were all in his care, and he found peace in watching them grow.

05:12Didar came to this country with that purpose already alive in him,

05:16a sense of duty shaped by the belief that real meaning is found not in what we take from the world,

05:23but in what we give back.

05:25He stepped into a new land and chose to become part of its promise, to believe in its dream.

05:32And he did believe in the American dream, not as something handed down, but as something built with your own hands.

05:40He may not be here to see that dream fulfilled,

05:42but his sons will surely grow up with its foundation beneath their feet because Baba laid it.

05:50Through the hours he worked, through the life that he built, through the path that he paved,

05:55that journey is now stitched into the fabric of this city,

06:00the hope of an immigrant, the strength of a family,

06:03the resolve to serve the place that had taken him in and made him its own.

06:08There's a belief in Islam, Sadaqa Jariya, that the good we do in this world doesn't end when we do,

06:16that there is true power in good deeds and a life of service leaves a lasting trace.

06:22Officer Didarul Islam lived that kind of life, one that keeps unfolding in the world he left behind,

06:28in the steadiness that he brought to those around him,

06:31in the streets that still carry a sense of safety because he once stood there,

06:37in the example he offered,

06:40not loud, not showy, but strong enough to stay with you.

06:45His watch may be over, but his impact will never be.

06:49And if there is any grace to be found in this grief,

06:52it is knowing that the light that he carried did not go out,

06:56it just moved forward, and it shines within the family that he worked so hard to build.

07:02For his wife and young boys, Didarul was the provider, the protector, the stable, supportive hand.

07:08And today, they are left to wonder, what now?

07:13Who will take care of us?

07:15Jamila, Ayan, Aizan, look around you.

07:19Look at all the NYPD officers here and outside this mosque and across this city who stand with you.

07:28I stand with you.

07:29I am so heartbroken for you and for your family.

07:33And as we scan that sea of blue, you will notice that they look a whole lot like Didar.

07:38They wear his uniform, his shield, his collar brass.

07:41They carry on his purpose and are sworn to finish the work that he started.

07:47And they will be there for you, always.

07:51In the NYPD, there are certain honors that carry deep and enduring meaning,

07:57not because they mark a destination, but because they speak to the path it took to get here,

08:03to the service given, the sacrifices made, and the legacy left behind.

08:09Didarul Islam came to this country as an immigrant with no guarantees,

08:13only the hope that hard work, that humility, and that purpose might lead him somewhere meaningful.

08:19And it did.

08:20He earned the respect of his peers.

08:22He believed in this department.

08:24With only four years on the job, he did the work of a cop with twice that time

08:29and in a command where the work never slowed.

08:31But no matter what this job threw at him, you could count on Didar to get it done and to get it done right.

08:39And though his journey was cut too short, the way he lived this job, with steadiness, with heart, with conviction,

08:48it reflected everything this title represents.

08:51So today, it is my honor and my great privilege to promote police officer Didarul Islam to detective first grade.

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