The DEA Honor Roll
Official Line of Duty Deaths
Joseph M. Paolillo
Rank: Detective Second Grade
Shield Number: 5862
Command: Real Time Crime Center
Date of Death: 09/09/2019
Cause of Death: Illnesses contracted as a result of work on the rescue and recovery from the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001.
Det. Second Grade Joseph M. Paolillo was an active member of the Real Time Crime Center when he passed away of illnesses contracted as a result of his work on the rescue and recovery from the WTC attacks. Among his previous commands in his 30-year career was the Organized Crime Control Bureau. Det. Paolillo’s brother John Paolillo, an FDNY Battalion Deputy Chief, died during the attacks on September 11, 2001. Detective Paolillo was appointed to the force on July 5, 1989, and promoted to Detective on December 5, 1997. He earned second grade on March 29, 2016. He was survived by his wife and three sons. On Friday, August 4, 2023, the corner of Sheppard Street and Glen Head Road in Glen Head, New York, near where his family resided, was renamed in his honor. On November 15, 2023, the Real Time Crime Center of the NYPD dedicated a van in his name.