The NYPD recruit who died training in sweltering heat — days before he was to become one of New York’s Finest — was remembered Thursday as a doting dad whose drive to join the force touched everyone around him.
Hundreds packed the Church of St. Anselm in The Bronx to mourn Edgar Ordonez, 33, whose dream to join the NYPD began when he joined the Police Athletic League at the 41st Precinct as a schoolboy, his family said during the service.
NYPD Deputy Chief Amir Yakatally, commander of the department police academy, eulogized Ordonez by reading from the fallen recruit’s own words, written after his decision to join the force.
“When I became a father I knew that it was no longer about me, it was about the,” Ordonez wrote. “Not only do I want to be a hero in their eyes, I want to set an example for them to not only be a great man and great woman, but most importantly great human beings.
“I just hope one day I will make them proud to know that daddy did his best.”
Ordonez is the father of boy and girl twins.
Mayor Eric Adams consoled the grieving family, calling Ordonez “an ambassador” for the diversity of the modern day Big Apple police force.
“You lost a son but you have picked up a family,” Adams told the recruit’s relatives.
“These painful moments must turn into purposeful moments,” the mayor said. “Your son’s desire to become a member of the police department speaks volumes, not only as a member of your family, but speaks volumes as a member of the Honduras community.
“We lost an ambassador today.”
Ordonez was training at the NYPD shooting range at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx on July 10 when he collapsed in the stifling heat — and was later pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center.
Just five days later he was honored at the police academy graduation at Madison Square Garden, where he was meant to be among the 620 recruits sworn into service.