January 26, 2004 Background on Patrick Lynch
http://www.brehonlaw.org/policing.htm

Patrick J. Lynch, the youngest elected President of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) (http://www.nycpba.org/index1.html), is a lifelong resident of New York City. Pat, the seventh of seven children, is married to the former Kathleen Casey, who was a grammar school classmate. They and their sons Patrick and Kevin continue to reside in their hometown of Bayside, Queens, near Pat's parents, Robert and Mary Lynch.

Pat graduated from Msgr. Scanlon High School in the Bronx in 1982 and followed in his father's footsteps into the New York City Transit Authority, where he was employed for a short time as a subway conductor before pursuing his passion to become a police officer.

Sworn in as a New York City Police Officer in 1984, Pat earned three Exceptional Police Duty awards and also received an Exceptional Merit citation for his part in coming to the aid of two fellow police officers who had been shot. He began his union career in 1989, being elected a delegate representing the officers in the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His launch of an informative alternative union newsletter, the Brooklyn North News, gave him citywide exposure and made him a serious candidate for higher union office.

In 1999, at a time when the union was saddled with a do-nothing image and tainted by corruption scandals, Pat led an insurgent team of reform-minded delegates who fought against that corruption and, by an historic margin, claimed the presidency of the NYC PBA - the world's largest police union.

Since that election, Pat and his team have scored a long series of impressive victories against all odds and through some of the darkest hours ever faced by the city and its uniformed services. He narrowly escaped the collapse of the South Tower of World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Pat waged an historic legal battle, leading to the highest court in the state, to cement the PBA's right to arbitrate labor disputes before PERB, and, thereafter, won a groundbreaking contract settlement after a grueling round of arbitration hearings in 2002. In August of that year, Pat was responsible for the largest showing of police officers at a union rally in the city's history. In 2003 he was elected to a second term by an overwhelmingly majority of his fellow officers.

In addition to being nominated for the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Pat has been honored by many organizations including the Walk the Walk Foundation, the 10-13 Clubs of America, the Retired Detectives Association, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Police Athletic League. He has been named man of the year by the New York State Supreme Officer's Association, the New York Finest Foundation and the County Mayo Society of New York and Grand Marshal of the Glen Cove St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The son of an immigrant from County Mayo and the great grandson of a NYPD Deputy Inspector who hailed from County Westmeath, Pat cherishes his Irish roots and proud heritage. He has, from his youth, been an active supporter of Irish causes and travels to his ancestral homeland on a regular basis, including as a performer with the County Tyrone Pipe Band.