The DEA Honor Roll
Official Line of Duty Deaths
Joseph D. Taylor
Rank: Detective
Shield Number: 1821
Command: 083 Pct.
Date of Death: 08/29/1977
Cause of Death: Shot - Investigation
Detective 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 shots from a 12-guage shotgun were fired by the suspect. One shot 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 the one suspect dead, another wounded and two suspects uninjured. It was the shot that killed Detective Taylor. Detective Taylor was appointed to the NYPD on March 14, 1969.