Law enforcement community remembers Georgianna DeRosa, one of NYPD’s first female cops

Georgianna DeRosa (inset photo, center), an investigator with the Queens District Attorney’s Office, died Tuesday. She was one of the first female police officers in NYPD history. Inset photo via Detective Investigators’ Association; Eagle file photo by David Brand

By David Brand

Georgianna DeRosa, an investigator in the Queens District Attorney’s Office, liked to tell stories from her time in the NYPD. As one of New York City’s first-ever female cops, she had a lot of them.

Take her first day on the job in 1973.

DeRosa’s male commander didn’t know what to do with her, she would tell people later, so he stationed her outside the precinct.

She was standing there for a while when a man pulled up in his car. He confessed to killing his wife, said her body was in his trunk and handed DeRosa a gun. She brought the man into the precinct.

“On her first day, she made a murder arrest,” said former Queens District Attorney John Ryan, who worked with DeRosa for two decades in the DA’s Office. He recounted the story Thursday, two days after DeRosa died at age 78. 

“She truly was a pioneer and a great person, in addition to being a great cop,” Ryan said. 

Queens’ current DA, Melinda Katz, said DeRosa was a trailblazer for women in law enforcement.

“She was part of a very small graduating class of women officers in 1973, she fought for equality, and she rose from patrol officer to detective 2nd grade,” Katz said. “She will be missed.” 

DeRosa’s 22-year stint in the Queens DA’s Office was a second career after she retired from the NYPD in 1998. 

She was one of the first women to go out on routine patrol in NYPD, and she became a detective in 1988. Nine years later she rose to the rank of Second Grade Detective in the 102nd Precinct Detective Squad, according to the NYPD Police Women’s Endowment Association. 

The organization honored DeRosa with their Lifetime Commitment and Dedication Award in 2009 in recognition of her 25-year tenure on the force and her dedication to helping women.

Detectives’ Endowment Association President Det. Paul DiGiacomo said DeRosa “was an enormous credit to her profession” as a detective and investigator.

“Ultimately, she dedicated almost a half-century and the vast majority of her life to policing and to the art of being a Detective,” DiGiacomo said. “She will be deeply missed by her family, friends and colleagues.”

Retired Judge Gregory Lasak said he knew DeRosa for more than 35 years. They began working together when she was a police officer in the 114th Precinct and he was a prosecutor in the Queens DA’s Office, he said.

“She was a very, very special person,” he said.

Lasak said several officials in the DA’s Office were eager to bring her on as an investigator after she left the NYPD. She played a key role in sensitive investigations, including sex crimes and domestic violence cases, he said.

“That was one of the great hires,” he said. “Witnesses loved her.” 

“She cared and it showed when she was dealing with witnesses and victims and fellow detectives,” he added. “Anyone who knows her knows that.”

Additional reporting by Rachel Vick.