A Brooklyn cop killed in the line of duty a century ago, Detective Bernardino Grottano, was finally provided a headstone at his Green-Wood Cemetery plot in 1924, honored by the DEA more than a lifetime later.
Grottano, known as Barney, died chasing a fleeing gunman who had just robbed the United Cigar Store on Brooklyn's Fulton Street. Despite being off duty, he joined the chase, got shot in the chest, and died a week later.
Grottano, a member of the Italian Squad fighting organized crime, left behind a wife and two children. The lack of protective gear like vests and cars made policing much more challenging back then.
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