BPD Remembers: The men and women of the Boston Police Department remember Lieutenant Detective Joseph L. A. Cavagnaro who died in the line of duty 92 years ago. On Tuesday, November 17, 1931, Lieutenant Detective Cavagnaro was conducting a homicide investigation in New York State when the vehicle he was traveling in was forced off the road, causing a crash that would take his life and seriously injure a local investigator who was driving at the time of the incident. It is believed that the vehicle that caused the crash was being operated by criminals with ties to the original homicide in Boston.
Lieutenant Detective Cavagnaro was 54-years-old at the time of his death and had served the department for 27 years. He left behind a grieving wife and four daughters.
Lieutenant Cavagnaro was laid to rest at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Mattapan. His name is located on the National Law Enforcement Memorial, panel 22, west line 17, as well as the Hero Wall at Boston Police Headquarters and the Law Enforcement Memorial at the State House in Downtown Boston.
A Hero Sign is posted to honor the life and service of Lieutenant Detective Cavagnaro near the site of the old Boston Police Headquarters on Berklee Street in the Back Bay