Steven D. McDonald (March 1, 1957 January 10, 2017) was a New York City Police Department patrolman who was shot and paralyzed on July 12, 1986. The shooting left him quadriplegic.

Shooting

A former U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and third generation NYPD police officer, McDonald was shot in the line of duty by 15-year-old Shavod Jones, one of three boys he was questioning about bicycle thefts in Central Park. McDonald and a co-worker were on patrol in Central Park because there had been reports about a robbery in the park. While attempting to question Jones, McDonald noticed something in another boy's sock, and when he wanted to see what it was, Jones shot McDonald three times. The first bullet hit him in the head, above his eye; the second hit his throat and caused him to have a speaking disability; and the third shattered his spine, paralyzing him from the neck down and leaving him quadriplegic and in need of a ventilator. Several months after he was shot, McDonald reported to the press that he had forgiven Jones for his actions. McDonald discussed the reasons for his forgiveness in some detail in the foreword of a 2014 book titled ''Why Forgive?'', written by friend and pastor

Johann Christoph Arnold Johann Christoph Arnold (November 14, 1940 – April 15, 2017) was a Christian writer and pastor. He was the elder of the Bruderhof Communities between 1983 and 2001. Arnold authored 12 books. Life Arnold is the son of Annemarie (née Wachter) ...

. Jones served nine years in prison for the shooting and had called McDonald to apologize, but the two never met in person after the incident. Jones was killed in a motorcycle crash on September 10, 1995, four days after his release on parole.

Personal life and death

McDonald's wife, Patricia Ann "Patti" McDonald, was elected Mayor of

Malverne Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area o ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in March 2007. At the time of the shooting, they had been married for less than a year and Patti was pregnant with their son Conor, who followed his father's footsteps by joining the NYPD in 2010. Conor had attained the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the force by the time of his father's passing. Steven McDonald died on January 10, 2017, at the age of 59, after having a heart attack a few days prior but died from his injuries. He was given a full police funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral with

Cardinal Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United ...

presiding over the Mass. Thousands of civilians and law enforcement officers gathered inside and outside the cathedral to pay their final respects and goodbyes, and the Mass was broadcast on the city's PIX 11 out of respect for McDonald's legacy.

Phillip Phillips Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) Note: An inaccurate birthdate (Sept. 29, 1990) and birthplace (Leesburg, Georgia) appear in is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of ''Americ ...

, winner of the eleventh season of '' American Idol'', was invited to the wake service and performed his hit song "

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

" because it was one of McDonald's favorites, according to his son, Conor.

Breaking the Cycle program

McDonald further promoted his message of

forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes through a change in feelings and attitude regarding a given offender, and overcomes the impact of th ...

following his shooting by founding Breaking the Cycle, a program promoting nonviolent conflict resolution. McDonald attended assemblies at high schools or middle schools and tell the students about his personal story of forgiveness. The program was started after McDonald traveled to Northern Ireland multiple times from 1997 to 1999 with his friends Mychal Judge and

to promote forgiveness in the wake of the conflicts there. Following his death, McDonald's wife and son have continued working with Breaking the Cycle by telling his story of forgiveness to students.

Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award

The New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) established the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award in his honor following the 1987–1988 NHL season. McDonald would personally present a Ranger with a trophy and a $25,000 check (in the player's name) made out to the Steven McDonald Foundation.

Shooting

Personal life and death

Breaking the Cycle program

Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award

References

Further reading