Public Employee Press

Mayor awards late brother’s badge number to Pat Bahnken

Public service runs deep in the blood of Local 2507 President Pat Bahnken and his brother, Police Officer Kevin Gillespie. Gillespie was a member of the street crimes unit when he was fatally shot in 1996 as he chased a carjacker in the Bronx. The officer left behind two children. “I think of him every day,” said Bahnken, who is a DC 37 vice president and Executive Board member.

When the Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics of Local 2507 became part of the Fire Dept. their badges and badge numbers changed. In honor of his brother, Bahnken asked for badge number 4503, which had been Kevin’s number. But Local 2507 battled Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen over many issues, and the request went unanswered for years.

Never known to back down from a fight, the local president persisted until Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally agreed.

In a small ceremony at City Hall in June, Bahnken, with his wife Andrea and 15-month-old daughter Jenna, and his sister Donna Glasser by his side, received his brother Kevin’s shield number. “This is fantastic,” said Bahnken. “It is a tribute to the memory of my brother. This shield is very important to me and our family.”