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Queens Street Renamed In Honor Of Fallen NYPD Officer, Killed In 1989

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A street renaming ceremony in Queens was held to honor a fallen NYPD hero.

The southeast corner of 172nd Street and Liberty Avenue in Jamaica will now also be known as Det. Keith Williams Way.

Dozens of neighbors joined the family and members of the NYPD at the ceremony Saturday for the unveiling.

Det. Williams was shot and killed in 1989 after a prisoner he picked up from Rikers Island broke into a secured locker and found a gun.

keith williams
NYPD Det. Keith Williams (Credit: CBSN New York)

"Keith was community, he was loved, he was an awesome cop, he was an awesome father a wonderful husband, and he deserves this and so much more and I tell you he is so missed," the officer's widow, Rita Williams said.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill said Det. Williams gave his all to make the city safer.

He was born and raised in Jamaica, where a park was also named in his honor.

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