Officer Patricia Espinosa's funeral Thursday to have full police honors, commissioner says

The Nassau County Police Department will say farewell to Officer Patricia Espinosa with full honors on Thursday morning, after a funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown, Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Monday.

Espinosa, 42, a nine-year veteran of the force, died on Saturday after an alleged drunken driver in a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado failed to stop at a traffic light and smashed into her car on Route 347 in Smithtown around 6 a.m., as Espinosa drove to work at Nassau's Fifth Precinct station house.

The driver, Matthew Smith, 20, who also was hurt in the wreck, was charged with driving while intoxicated by the Suffolk County police. His arraignment has been postponed due to medical treatment of the injuries that he suffered in the crash.

On Monday, the police commissioner lauded Espinosa as an American success story, an immigrant from Ecuador who came to the United States speaking only Spanish, but who, through drive and determination, fulfilled her dream of becoming a police officer.

"As a young lady, she came here from Ecuador with nothing," Ryder said. "Couldn't speak English. She wanted to be a cop. She learned the language, she went to college, and then she got the job of her dreams."

One of her last acts as a police officer last week was to testify to a grand jury to secure an indictment against a suspect in a homicide case, the commissioner said.

Espinosa had breached the door of a Travis Avenue home in Elmont on Dec. 29 to arrest Desean Harrison, 23, who was accused of fatally stabbing his roommate, according to police. A grand jury convened Friday to hear testimony supporting felony murder charges.

"Just the day before she was tragically taken by the drunk driver, she was in court testifying in a homicide case," Ryder said. "She responded to a call, kicked the door down herself, tackled the individual in the hallway and made the arrest of a homicide subject. And because of her brave actions, that individual was in the grand jury, and they found a true bill to move forward on trial."

Espinosa, who met her husband on the job, also had a softer side, Ryder said.

Ryder said he’s received an outpouring of grief and appreciation from the people in the Elmont community that she touched.

She also was generous to young people, said Officer Victoria Ojeda, president of the Nassau County Police Hispanic Society, encouraging them to enter public service.

"She was very willing to share her own story of coming here, why she became a police officer, how education bettered her life," Ojeda said. "It was in her nurturing way that it was just built inside of her. You can't fake what is innate inside you. She was somebody who genuinely cared about everyone."

Ojeda said Espinosa also drew strength from her deep Christian faith. After years of trying to conceive, she grew frustrated and discouraged, but continued to pray for a child, Ojeda said, and finally became pregnant.

"She believed that that child was a gift from the Virgin Mary. She prayed one day and thought she wasn't able to have kids, and she got a gift," she said. "That was her joy."

Espinosa is survived by her 18-month-old daughter, Mia; as well as her husband, Francisco Malaga, who also is an officer assigned to the Fifth Precinct; a brother assigned to the First Precinct; and another brother serving in the Philadelphia Police Department. She also is survived by a sister and her parents.

On Wednesday, mourners may pay their respects at St. James Funeral Home on Middle Country Road from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

On Thursday, her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:20 a.m. at St. Patrick’s on East Main Street in Smithtown.