New York City Police Department
March 12, 1909
Lieutenant Giuseppe Petrosino
The New York Police Department (NYPD) Bomb Squad was formed as the Italian Squad in 1903. Lt. Petrosino was designated in April of that year as the first Commanding Officer with a five man unit assigned to investigating extortion bombings by members of a criminal gang known as the Black Hand. Lt. Petrosino is the only NYPD officer killed in the line of duty overseas. He was assassinated in Palermo, Sicily in 1909. The NYPD Bomb Squad is the oldest active public safety bomb disposal unit in the United States.