ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Friday marks one year since Rochester Police Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz was fatally shot in the line of duty.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year that he’s been gone," said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter. "That’s crushing."
Blue ribbons mark the site of what had been an urgent crime scene exactly one year ago.
“I still remember that night ... at the hospital and we’re all standing around looking at each other like, ‘I don’t believe what they’re saying,’" said Baxter.
Police say Mazurkiewicz and his partner Officer Sino Seng were ambushed during a stakeout. Seng was also shot but survived.
Baxter attended the police academy with his friend, Tony Mazurkiewicz.
“That job Tony was doing that night we’ve done a thousand times — stakeouts,” said Baxter. "I’ve done them myself. I’ve done them with Tony and you just never know which one’s going to come and grab you, and that’s the realization that gets checked. That gets set in when we lose one of our brothers.”
Mazurkiewicz was a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department and well-loved and respected by his colleagues. His funeral shut down Rochester’s downtown streets and was broadcast live.
“I think there’s nobility in our service. There’s nobility in our job, right?” said Baxter. “This is not a job that you take lightly. And we should honor Tony by going and doing our job with that nobility thought in the back of our mind. That we are in that position in society to hold that line between good and evil. And sometimes it costs us dearly. But then with that job comes the realization that we’re keeping people safe.”
Mazurkiewicz is survived by his wife, four children and three grandchildren.
“You hear Lynne talk about that, his beautiful bride, that Tony was much more than a guy that just wore the uniform," said Baxter. "He was that papa. He was a husband. I think we have to realize that and reflect upon that. That he lived a life that was not only noble as a police officer, but also what we should live as human beings. You know, being a family man. Being a papa to your grandchildren. Finding out that there are other things than our careers. Whether you’re a cop. Firefighter. News reporter. There are other things when we go home and those are the most important things.”
Mazurkiewicz’s badge has now been added to the wall of fallen heroes at Rochester Police Department headquarters. Badge #557 is on a plaque that reads, “Dedicated to Police Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz who gave his life in the performance of his duty July 21, 2022.”