Stephanie Moses (Steven Hirsch)
SOLEMN: President Obama greets Sgt. Stephanie Moses at a wreath-laying at the 9/11 Memorial in May 2011. Moses was found dead by her own hand yesterday. (
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A pretty NYPD sergeant who once accompanied President Obama as he laid a wreath at Ground Zero killed herself yesterday morning in her Long Island home, law-enforcement sources said.
Stephanie Moses, 40, was found by her retired detective girlfriend at around 11 a.m. in the bedroom of her split-level residence in Baldwin with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, sources added.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” shouted Melissa McCoy, who was last assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, as she ran from the house.
Moses was an 18-year veteran who had spent a good portion of her career in the Ceremonial Unit.
On May 5, 2011, she joined Obama when he somberly placed a red, white and blue wreath at the 9/11 Memorial to mark the killing of al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden four days earlier by Navy SEALs in Pakistan.
“On behalf of the New York City Police Department, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Stephanie Moses, who was, on so many occasions, the face of the NYPD on the national stage, as well as routinely at police ceremonies,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday.
“She epitomized professionalism in her appearance, conduct and dedication to duty. The department has suffered a great loss today that is felt personally by the many who knew and respected Sgt. Moses.”
Throughout the day, numerous high-ranking NYPD officers and detectives visited her home on the quiet block to pay their respects.
“It’s a personal loss,” said a saddened Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association.
Mullins, who compared Moses’ good looks to actress Halle Berry, recalled seeing Moses three weeks ago at the Police Academy.
“She was very well respected. All the cops who fell underneath her liked her as supervisor,” he said.
The daughter of a retired NYPD detective, Moses was born and raised in Jamaica.
She started her law enforcement career as a probationary officer in 1994 after graduating from the CUNY-NYPD Cadet Corps. She joined the force as a freshman while studying for her associate’s degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.