Rockville Centre rallies to support Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa’s family
The Atwell family, which organizes a fundraiser each year for a different cause, hosted this year’s event.
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Hundreds of people gathered in Rockville Centre on Saturday to support the family of Patricia Espinosa, the Nassau County police officer killed by an alleged drunk driver.
The fundraiser was held at St. Agnes Parish Center, with proceeds going to Officer Espinosa’s husband and their young daughter.
“I have no words to express how thankful I am,” said Francisco Malaga, Espinosa’s husband. “I mean, the love and support that everybody's showing, coworkers, friends, family and even the community. It's just amazing.”
The Atwell family organizes the annual event called the annual St. Atty’s Day fundraiser. It has been a beloved community event for 20 years. The Atwell family hosts it in their backyard, but when last year’s crowd was over 900 people, they decided to move it to the center of town.
John Atwell says they’ve raised more than $700,000 over the past 20 years.
“It’s our job to do all the work behind the scenes to make their day a brighter day,” John Atwell said.
Malaga says he loves to see the impact his wife had in the community.
“She was a great person, a great cop, and overall, she was amazing,” Malaga said. “It's amazing the way she was going out of her way to just help out people. And you can see now how the community is responding.”
