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A GoFundMe campaign for the family of slain Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa raised more than $125,000 in its first three hours Sunday night as funeral arrangements were announced.
Officer Espinosa, 42, was killed early Saturday when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck her vehicle on Route 347 in St. James, police said. Hauppauge resident Matthew Smith, 20, is charged with driving while intoxicated, according to authorities.
Visitation honoring Espinosa will be held Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at St. James Funeral Home, 829 Middle Country Road in St. James. Cremation is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, at Mount Pleasant Crematory in Center Moriches.
The Fifth Precinct officer joined the Nassau County Police Department in 2017 and quickly became “a 5th Precinct and community favorite” through her “infectious smile and passionate ways,” according to the fundraising campaign.
Espinosa immigrated from Ecuador at 21 with a college degree but no English. After learning the language and working as a state corrections officer for four years, she joined Nassau’s police force, where she became a field training officer and served as sergeant-at-arms of the Nassau County Police Hispanic Society for five years.
Deeply involved in community service through the Hispanic Society and The Make-A-Wish Foundation, she received numerous awards across her career.
Espinosa was part of a law enforcement family. Her brother David serves in the Philadelphia Police Department, while her brother Cristian is an NCPD officer. Her husband, Francisco Malaga, is also a Nassau County police officer.
Espinosa and Malaga have a 2-year-old daughter, Mia.
Honoring Officer Espinosa
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has ordered flags flown at half-staff from Monday until Espinosa’s burial.
Nassau County PBA President Tommy Shevlin called Espinosa’s death “a profound loss to our department, our county, and every community she protected.”
“Officer Espinosa was the heart of a true law-enforcement family,” Shevlin said Saturday. “That her life was taken in such a senseless act makes this loss even more painful.”
Police are asking anyone with information on the crash to call the Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit at 631.852.6553.
Top: Officer Patricia Espinosa (St. James Funeral Home)
