DETF - March 5, 1990
On March 5, 1990, at 3:35 p.m., Investigator Joseph Aversa, 31, was fatally wounded and two New York City Police Department detectives were shot in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who attempted to rob one of the officers during a narcotics operation.
Investigator Aversa, a member of the New York City Drug Enforcement Task Force (DETF), was engaged in a "buy-bust" operation which involved the purchase of a large quantity of cocaine.
Investigator Aversa was a six-year veteran of the New York State Police at the time of his death.