Donald J. Rainey was born March 27, 1939, and appointed to the force on May 11, 1959 with shield #22546. He was first assigned to the 73rd Precinct where he handled patrol duties. On November 6, 1961, he was transferred to plain-clothes work for Patrol Borough Manhattan North. He was promoted to Detective on April 5, 1965, and awarded shield #2096. In July of 1965, he transferred into the Detective Division’s COBS Auto Squad. On September 28, 1965, Det. Rainey was off-duty inside an upper Manhattan café when a dispute broke out. Rainey drew his weapon, but when two youths called in a responding 25-year-old plain-clothed Officer, he shot Rainey, not realizing he was a Detective. Rainey was transported to Roosevelt Hospital where he died the following day. He was 36 years old.
