The commander of a Queens police precinct apparently took his own life on Monday afternoon near a public park inside a department-issued vehicle, according to published reports.
Deputy Inspector Denis Mullaney, 44, headed up the 107th Precinct, which covers parts of Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Pomonok, Hillcrest and Jamaica.
On Monday, Mullaney was reportedly found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a vehicle at the corner of Underhill Avenue and 164th Street, near Kissena Park, in Flushing at about 5:10 p.m. The location is within the confines of the neighboring 109th Precinct.
Several publications reported that Mullaney had called relatives as well as the 107th Precinct’s executive officer earlier on Monday, making statements that he had intended to kill himself.
EMS units rushed Mullaney to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Mullaney was appointed to head the 107th Precinct back in September after serving a stint at the NYPD Transit Bureau.
His death is believed to be the first active-duty suicide of an NYPD member this year. The department saw 10 suicides within its ranks in 2019, and was racked by the COVID-19 pandemic — with more than four dozen civilian and uniformed members losing their lives to the virus.
