Peter Brown, a decorated Nassau County police officer who earned accolades after saving residents from a burning home in North Merrick after a deadly auto crash, died on Sept. 11 at Plainview Hospital.
He was 73 and suffered from internal bleeding related to an ulcer.
Brown, who served 22 years in the department, had a flair for heroics — helping to pull a child from a cesspool and removing the umbilical cord from around a newborn’s neck during an emergency delivery.
First Deputy Nassau Police Commissioner Kevin Smith said that he and many other young officers learned the ropes from Brown.
“He had the look of authority, the patience of a saint and he was one of those people who had a way of, when you talked to him, making you feel that what you were saying was one of great importance,” Smith said. “And not everyone has that quality. In our line of work, it’s an exceptional quality to have.”
Peter Brown grew up in Massapequa, the oldest of four children to Geraldine Brown, a homemaker, and William Brown, who worked for P.C. Richard as a crossing guard.
After graduating from Plainedge High School in North Massapequa, Brown immediately pursued a career in law enforcement, joining the Nassau Police Department at the age of 18. He initially served in the Seventh Precinct in Seaford before transitioning to Baldwin’s First Precinct, where he would spend the bulk of his career.
In June of 1979, Brown and a local fire chief were able to pull a two-year-old from a cesspool containing toxic chemicals, family members said.
In 1984, Brown’s most dramatic career moment came when a young driver, speeding in North Merrick and attempting to evade police, hit two cars and smashed into a garage.
The crash touched off a fire that severed a gas line and damaged a home on Meadowbrook Road and four nearby vehicles.
Brown, who had been looking for the fleeing driver, safely evacuated the teenage driver from the burning automobile and then rescued residents from nearby homes that had caught fire. The driver of the fleeing car later died from his injuries.
Brown’s heroism, which left him with minor burns on his back, earned him a trip to Washington, D.C. where he received the U.S. Attorney General Distinguished Public Safety Award.
“This incident deeply impacted my father so much that he kept a picture of the teenager on his desk, which remains there today,” said Erin Groh, 40, of Lake Ronkonkoma, the youngest of Brown’s three surviving children.
Brown and his ex-wife settled in Ronkonkoma and had six children: Cathlin Hyland, 50, of Sayville, Ryan Brown, 43, of Southampton and Groh. A son, Peter, was born stillborn and twins James and Matthew, were born premature at five months and did not survive.
Peter Brown later remarried to Susan Feehan and helped raise her son, Jack Feehan, 24, of Boston.
Feehan said she met Brown, who was a talented carpenter, while he was performing work on her house. Their friendship eventually evolved, and the couple was married 14 years.
“The years that followed were happy, funny and fulfilling, watching our family grow gave Pete stories to tell, which he did well,” Feehan said. “Pete was my ‘go-to’ guy for everything. There wasn’t a situation that he didn’t have the answer to. Pete was a true gentleman, kind and caring.”
Brown retired from the Nassau Police Department in 1991, after suffering a back injury on the job.
A history buff who gobbled up information about John F. Kennedy, Brown spent his retirement traveling, practicing photography and honing his woodworking skills.
“You always knew he was there for you,” Hyland said. “If you ever needed anything, you called and he was there for you immediately. Everything was dropped for you.”
A service for Brown was held Sept. 18 in Seaford. Burial was held at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale.
He is survived by his wife, sisters Jayne Wynne, Geraldine Boalick and Patricia Spadaro, his three children, one stepson, brothers-in-law Tom Wynne, Don Boalick and John Spadaro; sons-in-law Kevin Hyland and Jon Groh and four grandchildren.
