Six-year-old Bianca Garcia clutched her stuffed bunny as she looked up at her mommy’s name on a new street sign unveiled last week outside the 48th Precinct stationhouse.
Her mother, Bronx cop Jill Garcia, took illegal guns off the street and aided immigrant victims of domestic violence during her nine years on the NYPD. She died at the age of 34 from leiomyosarcoma – a rare form of aggressive cancer – in October 2009.
Last Thursday, her service to the city was commemorated when the intersection of the Cross Bronx Expressway service road and Park Ave. was designated “Police Officer Jill Garcia Place.”
Bagpipers played as Garcia’s husband, Girardo, and their three children – Sonia, 9; Bianca, and Charlie, 4 – solemnly gazed at the sign while other family members wept.
A priest sprinkled holy water and blessed the sign with a prayer as dozens of cops in their dress blues saluted a fellow officer.
“Jill Garcia was a phenomenal police officer that served our city so great and represented the NYPD as an ambassador to our neighborhoods,” said City Councilman Joel Rivera (D-East Tremont), who supported the legislation approving the street renaming.
Garcia was well-known for her efforts in the NYPD’s domestic violence unit, where she helped immigrant women suffering from abuse. She used her bilingual skills in English and Spanish to reach out to women who were afraid to come forward out of fear of deportation.
She received five commendations for “Excellent Police Duty” and had made more than 120 arrests – many of them involving illegal guns.
“She was a great cop,” said Police Officer Juan Rodriguez, Garcia’s partner for nearly three years. “She was always happy, even in the worst of the worst situations. She was always in great spirits, always singing in the car.”
He said she was “glad she was able to help [the domestic violence victims] directly and not just patrol.”
“It’s very hard to understand that she’s gone,” Girardo Garcia said as he held his son’s hand. “But I’m proud of my wife. Her job was very tough.”
The couple were married for nine years.
“She’s here right now with me,” he said, “and with her kids.”
BY SARAH ARMAGHAN
DAILY NEWS