Lt. Fitzpatrick was a driving force behind uncovering illegal ivory and wildlife products in New York City

The Wildlife Conservation Society mourns the passing of New York State Environmental Conservation Police Region 2 Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick, who died on May 7th., 2014.

Lt. Fitzpatrick served as an Environmental Conservation Officer for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. His beat was the five boroughs of New York City, and his passion was uncovering shops selling illegal ivory and other wildlife trade products. As supervisor of the DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigations (BECI) office in New York City, he played a pivotal role in combating New York’s illegal ivory trade.

We at the Wildlife Conservation Society were tremendously fortunate to have Lt. Fitzpatrick as a powerful ally over the years in our efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade and particularly the illegal ivory trade. His knowledge of the trade and its impact on our region has been imperative in communicating the issue of poaching to people here and around the world.

In addition to his involvement in ivory arrests in New York City, John was immensely helpful with WCS’s program to work with the military on wildlife trade, and he had just started to support our efforts to bring SMART technology to New York State to combat wildlife trafficking.

Lt. Fitzpatrick received numerous awards and commendations, including the Fred P. Drew Award in 2013 for his investigation into the illegal ivory trade in Manhattan’s Diamond District that led to the largest seizure of ivory in New York State history.

WCS is working hard to pass an ivory ban in New York, now not only for Africa’s elephants but for Lt. Fitzpatrick, too. His legacy to combat the illegal wildlife trade will live on through this important law.