Investigation Continues Into NYPD Cop Death While Kayaking

Officer Patrick Luca (via Post)

The tragic death of NYPD police officer Patrick Luca, who apparently drowned while kayaking with his son in Long Island's Nissequogue River, is being investigated by Suffolk County's homicide squad. Luca and his five-year-old son had set off for a day of kayaking on Friday around 1:30 p.m.; an hour later, little Caden Luca was found by boaters, floating thanks to his flotation vest, but Luca's body wasn't found until Saturday morning.

Coast Guard spokesman Mark Averill said, "All we know is what the son told us. A boat came by and the boat's wake knocked them over," but Averill added that there was no evidence of another boat (Luca's inflatable kayak had not capsized) and said the area where the father and son were kayaking was dangerous, "You could step forward and the water will go from four feet deep to suddenly being over your head, and the current will take you right out." And one of the boaters who found Caden Luca, Ted Sandomenico, told the Daily News, "It's fortunate we were there. He was frightened. He had been out on the water by himself. He was shaking."

Luca, who was a 21-year veteran of the NYPD and was involved in recruiting new police officers, was not wearing a life vest but reportedly could swim. Funeral arrangements will be announced after the ME's office finishes the autopsy.

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By Jen Chung in News on August 15, 2011 4:56 PM

Comments [rss]

sun4thesoul

You people are not insinuating that a 5 year old drown his police officer father, are you? Not actually. You cannot POSSIBLY be that stupid. I have a 5 year old, and there is NO POSSIBLE WAY he could overpower his father and drown him. It was an accident. He probably got pulled out by an undercurrent or hit his head. 0% chance this child had ANYTHING to do with it. And shame on you for making those kinds of comments. Poor kid watched his father...probably his IDOL....die in front of him while he feared for his own life.

fewgoodmen

As a retired maritime investigator with the US Coast Guard Elite Division, I'd say there's something fishy here (no pun intended) - lol

pendejito

Great detective work there guys. However, did you take into consideration wind speed, tides, or the shifting poles into consideration? How about the child's relationship with the father? Do we know how much pressure it takes to keep a full grown man's head underwater with no bottom to push off from?

Rocknrope

I hope they figured out what happened. I can't believe that the 5-year old would lie about the details, but the whole thing seems bizarre. If the boat capsized, the father could have grabbed onto the kayak to keep himself afloat while the lifevest did the same for his son. And all this happened within an hour of them going out on the water.

SFNY

You can swim or grab the kayak only if you're still conscious.

If they were in shallow water when the wake tipped them out of the boat, Luca could easily have gotten knocked out. That's a scenario when even [Michael] Phelps couldn't save himself without a life vest.

Matt F.

Don't you mean Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps?

And I agree that he was either KO'd or had some sort of distress (heart attack?) before he went into the water.

If he could swim, his first priority would have been saving his son. There had to be distress other than just hitting the water.

SFNY

Can I say I meant their love child? Nah, I just came back to correct myself.

A heart attack could've done it too, but only if he had the attack in the water (otherwise he would likely have collapsed in the kayak, and his son would've remained on board).

BreezyPointNerdHerd

Who takes a service revolver on a kayaking trip with a five year old?

SonnyBobiche

This has been answered already. Off duty cops carry their side arms as a matter of routine. Many, many times, an off-duty officer has seen a crime in progress and responded. Also, he would not risk leaving the gun in his car in case it was stolen.

As for carrying the gun next to a 5 year old. He carried his holstered gun right next to thousands and thousands of civilians, including children, every day he worked for 21 years. So what's the issue?