|
Public Employee Press
Mayor awards late brothers badge
number to Pat Bahnken
Public service runs deep in the blood of Local 2507 President
Pat Bahnken and his brother, Police Officer Kevin Gillespie. Gillespie
was a member of the street crimes unit when he was fatally shot in 1996
as he chased a carjacker in the Bronx. The officer left behind two children.
I think of him every day, said Bahnken, who is a DC 37 vice
president and Executive Board member.
When the Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics of Local 2507 became
part of the Fire Dept. their badges and badge numbers changed. In honor
of his brother, Bahnken asked for badge number 4503, which had been Kevins
number. But Local 2507 battled Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen over
many issues, and the request went unanswered for years.
Never known to back down from a fight, the local president persisted until
Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally agreed.
In a small ceremony at City Hall in June, Bahnken, with his wife Andrea
and 15-month-old daughter Jenna, and his sister Donna Glasser by his side,
received his brother Kevins shield number. This is fantastic,
said Bahnken. It is a tribute to the memory of my brother. This
shield is very important to me and our family.
| |