An army of uniformed NYPD officers swept onto the doorsteps of slain Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo's Long Island home Tuesday to send off his young son to his first day of school.
The touching moment was captured in a series of photos tweeted by the NYPD's 43rd Precinct, where Tuozzolo worked when he was shot and killed in November 2016.
"This morning we continued our vow to #NeverForget Paul's family, as we send off Austin on his 1st day of school," NYPD Precinct 23 tweeted.
Little Austin, wearing a striped shirt and backpack, is pictured grinning from his front porch surrounded by dozens of his father's beaming colleagues.
Tuozzolo, a 19-year veteran of the force, was a 41-year-old father to sons Austin and Joseph. At the sergeant's funeral last fall, SBA President Ed Mullins pledged the NYPD's loyalty to Tuozzolo's widow, Lisa, and their children.
The officer was trying to apprehend a 35-year-old man holding his family hostage in the Bronx when the suspect, Manuel Rosales, fatally shot him. Rosales was killed in a shootout with police.