On the night of December 15, 1980, 42-year-old police officer Gabriel Vitale was on foot patrol in Flushing, Queens, investigating a burglary near 35th Avenue and 150th Street. Vitale and his partner approached two men who fled in opposite directions; Vitale caught and subdued one suspect at gunpoint. While holstering his weapon to use his radio to check on his partner, the subdued suspect drew a .45 caliber handgun and shot Vitale. The officer died of his wounds nine days later, on December 24, 1980.

Investigators identified the perpetrators as two 25-year-old brothers. One brother barricaded himself in an apartment and hurled a grenade at officers during the standoff before being shot and taken into custody. The other brother was arrested at a Times Square hotel 15 days after the shooting. Both men faced additional charges in an August 30, 1980, stabbing death and were later convicted. The shooter in Vitale’s case was convicted of murder on December 21, 1982, and given 25 years to life; his projected parole eligibility is 2042.

Did anyone in Flushing at the time see or hear anything about the burglary or the pursuit that might add detail to what happened that night?