The DEA Honor Roll
Official Line of Duty Deaths
Luis R. Lopez
Rank: Detective
Shield Number: 4202
Command: Manhattan South Tactical Narcotics Team
Date of Death: 03/10/1993
Cause of Death: Shot and killed during narcotics buy and bust
On March 10, 1993, 35-year-old Undercover Det. Luis Lopez, assigned to Manhattan South Narcotics, was shot and killed during a buy and bust operation on East First Street in front of a tee shirt store. He was about to buy ten pounds of marijuana and an undisclosed number of firearms when he told the subjects he would get the $10,000 buy money from his car. When he returned to the location, the subjects opened fire. Lopez was shot in the chest. It was approximately 3:58 p.m.
Det. Lopez was highly decorated during his eight years on the force. Said a colleague, “Louie was a great man. He made being a cop look so easy. He could never be replaced or imitated. I can still see that big smile. He was a giant to me. He was a cop’s cop.”
Three subjects were arrested in connection with the murder. The 23-year-old shooter was sentenced to 55 years to life. In 2002, he appealed his sentence and a Judge granted him a hearing to review his case.
Det. Lopez was survived by his wife, and two teenaged children, one of whom, Luis Lopez, Jr., eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and is now a Detective Second Grade.
Lopez had been named “Rookie of the Year” by Community Board One in 1987, and “Cop of the Year” by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce in March of 1990. On September 28, 1998, the NYPD Harbor Unit named Launch #9 on Randall’s Island in honor of Det. Luis Lopez.