These recently promoted NYPD members are honoring their hero fathers. Both were shot in the line of duty.
NEW YORK - The NYPD promoted 177 officers in a ceremony Friday, including two officers whose fathers were also in the NYPD and were shot in the line of duty.
They told CBS New York's Shosh Bedrosian they've wanted to follow in their fathers' footsteps since they were young.
Son of NYPD Det. Steven McDonald promoted to captain
NYPD Det. Steven McDonald was known as a hero in New York City. He survived being shot three times back in 1986 and was paralyzed for decades. He even forgave the gunman who changed his life forever.
On Friday, his 38-year-old son, Conor, was promoted to captain at the NYPD's April promotion ceremony.
"This is one rank my dad discussed with me, that it was his dream and my dream," said Capt. Conor McDonald.
"It was a path that he chose and I'm very proud of him, and he proved to me that it was something that he wanted," said his mother, Patti-Ann.
McDonald was newly married to his wife Patti-Ann and was pregnant with Conor when he was shot on the job. Conor watched his father bring communities together for years, before he died in 2017. McDonald now walks the shoes of his own father using his words and legacy to guide him.
"My dad said, before he passed, 'love is the way'. Life can be tough chaotic and tough and painful, and there's a lot of great people in this world, so love is the way," said McDonald.
Daughter of NYPD Officer Anthony Mosomillo promoted to detective
Twenty-eight-year-old Francesca Mosomillo is now giving life to her father's old police officer's shield number, after she was promoted to detective.
"I'm really proud of myself. I'm very humbled that I'm bringing my dad's police shield into the detective borough," she said.
Her father, NYPD Officer Anthony Mosomillo, was shot and killed in the line of duty in May 1998.
"It'll be 26 years in May that my husband passed away, and today these are tears of happiness. They really are," said Margaret Mosomillo, Francesca's mother.
CBS New York spoke with her mother in 2019, when she and her daughter fought the release of her husband's killer from prison. She says she always knew her daughter would follow in her father's footsteps.
Commissioner Caban also announced recently fallen police officer Jonathan Diller's partner, Veckash Khedna, was also promoted to detective.
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