Det. Alfred T. Boesch was a member of the NYC Housing Authority Police Department. On January 21, 1995, while a member of the Housing Bureau’s Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit (SNEU), he was part of a team that was executing a search warrant on an apartment at the Astoria Houses in Queens. He was carrying the power supply for the hydraulic entry tool and wearing a heavy vest. When the command was given to use the tool to open the apartment door, Det. Boesch bent down to turn on the tool, collapsed, and went into cardiac arrest. He died a short time later at Western Queens Hospital. He was two weeks shy of his 33rd birthday.
Det. Boesch had ten years on the job, having entered the force in 1985. He was known as a dedicated and hard-working Officer. He was survived by his parents, his wife, and their two sons. His brother John is a retired NYPD Sergeant.
Det. Boesch was posthumously awarded a Purple Shield on NYPD Medal Day on September 25, 1996, right after the merger of the NYPD with the NYC Housing and Transit Police Departments. A plaque was dedicated in his honor at the Housing Bureau on May 7, 2021. On July 26, 2023, an ESU K-9 was named “Boesch” in his honor.
