Remembering NYPD Hero Joe Herbert

By Katie McFadden

It was a funeral fit for a hero. On Tuesday, October 7, a sea of blue lined the streets around O’Connor’s Funeral Home and then St. Francis de Sales Church to pay their respects to one of New York’s Finest, known for nabbing the infamous “NYC Zodiac Killer,” among other career accolades. Retired NYPD Chief Joseph Michael Herbert died on September 30. He was 68.

Bagpipes played as the NYPD flag-draped casket of Joe Herbert was brought into the church in Belle Harbor, where it was standing room only, filled with family, friends and fellow first responders. Among the attendees was retired Congressman Peter King, a strong supporter of the NYPD, Joe Dunne, First Deputy Commissioner on 9/11, and former Assistant Commissioner for Counterterrorism, John Miller. And during the Mass were some in-depth eulogies from some of those who knew Herbert best, his longtime friend and colleague, former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, and Joe’s brother, Jeffery Herbert, who also read a tribute from Joe’s beloved daughter, Kristin.

Boyce spoke about the man he knew on and off the job for more than 40 years. Boyce related that Herbert was born in Red Hook and raised in Bay Ridge, one of eight children in a close-knit family. Herbert’s own father, John, served in the NYPD, and his older brother, also named John, was a homicide detective. “John was his inspiration for coming on the job and joining the NYPD,” Boyce said. Herbert joined the ranks in January 1981. He became a “star” working for the 71st Precinct and then the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn. “He was truly a natural. He had sharply honed instincts. Joe had spider-like senses which literally vibrated the same frequency as trouble was about to begin. He could sense it before he saw it,” Boyce said. In just one year, from 1983 to 1984, Herbert responded to 129 gun calls. “He was a magnet for crime, in a good way. Wherever the action was, whatever it was, he always seemed to be right there in the middle of it,” Boyce said. By 1985, he was awarded with the Medal of Valor and just five years after joining the NYPD, Herbert made the rank of detective. It was his sharp instincts that led to Herbert’s arrest of one of New York City’s most notorious criminals—the NYC Zodiac Killer or the Brooklyn Sniper.

From 1990 to 1993, Heriberto Seda had shot and killed three people and wounded six others. Likely inspired by the original “Zodiac Killer,” Seda wrote letters to the police and press, saying he chose his targets based on astrology. But he was long able to escape arrest. Herbert had worked on the case at the time, but police were never able to identify the killer. That was until 1996, when Boyce, Herbert, and others responded to a hostage situation in Brooklyn, in which a man shot his sister and was holding her boyfriend hostage. Police were able to arrest the shooter, Seda, who wrote a confession. “On the bottom of it, he puts a circle in a square in it and Joe reads it and I’m standing right next to him, he looks at me goes, ‘this is the Zodiac Killer.’” Herbert had remembered the odd signature from the work he did on the Zodiac case and put two and two together, to finally identify NYC’s Zodiac Killer.

Herbert went on to join the Joint Terrorism Task Force after 9/11, where he rose through the ranks, retiring from the NYPD as Deputy Chief and Commanding Officer, after 38 years on the job.  He enjoyed retirement in Rockaway, enjoying time with his now late wife, Barbara, his daughter, Kristin and her husband, Christopher, and his granddaughter, Mia Veronica, in between cheering on the NY Rangers, having lunch at his favorite local spots and writing his autobiography.

Boyce continued to speak of the man who had a great sense of humanity, a big sense of humor, a big heart and a positive attitude. “He had an enormous energy and even though he struggled with diabetes, he would go and get dialysis, and go right back to work. He was an incredible man with incredible drive. He never complained. Please understand this man’s achievements and his contributions to this city, our country, and of course, our beloved Department. Brother, rest well. You will never be forgotten.”

Jeffery Herbert followed, sharing some words from Joe’s daughter, Kristin, who also lost her mom, Barbara, in July. “My dad was truly one-of-a-kind,” Jeffery Herbert read. Kristin’s eulogy spoke of a father who drove her and her friends into Manhattan and picked them up at 3 a.m., so they didn’t have to take the subway. She also acknowledged that he worked hard so she could go to her dream school, Villanova. “Here’s a dad who can make everyone burst into laughter with one of his wildly inappropriate self-deprecating jokes. He was our rock, our moral compass and the most humble man I’ve ever known. As you can see just by looking around this room, he was also kind of a big deal. He saw things in his career most of us could hardly imagine but somehow, he always came home soft, gentle, protective and the best dad anyone could ever hope for. Dad, you were a legend. You gave me the blueprint for how to live with courage, humility, integrity and love. I will miss you every single day,” Herbert continued on behalf of Kristin.

Following the Mass, Joe Herbert was laid to rest at Resurrection Cemetery on Staten Island. In his memory, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to the First Responders Children’s Foundation (1strcf.org).