Outside the Bronx mosque where a New York City police officer was eulogised last week, a group of officers in their formal navy blue uniforms solemnly hung a banner bearing the young officer's photograph and the name of his fraternity, the Bangladeshi American Police Association.
Didarul Islam — one of four people killed in the July 28 shooting at the Manhattan office tower housing the NFL's headquarters — was the NYPD's first Bangladeshi American officer killed in the line of duty.
His funeral underscored the fertile recruiting ground the department has found in the city's thriving Bangladeshi community. More than 1,000 of the NYPD's roughly 33,000 uniformed members are Bangladeshi Americans, according to the association. Another 1,500 people of Bangladeshi heritage are among the department's 19,000 civilian employees.
Those numbers are up from just a handful of officers a few decades ago, a phenomenon some Bangladeshi officers attribute partly to their own patriotic response to anti-Muslim sentiment after the 9/11 attacks, as well as active recruitment and word-of-mouth in the community.
Among the sea of NYPD officers who lined the street to honour Islam, 36, were some who opted for traditional South Asian attire, their police badges worn around their necks. Many joined the throngs of mourners who knelt in the street in prayer.
“He actually uplifted our community in a way that was not imaginable before,” said Shamsul Haque, one of the co-founders of the NYPD's Bangladeshi officers' group. “His legacy will endure not only as a hero who gave his life protecting others, but also as a symbol of hope, integrity and the American dream.”
Bangladeshi immigrants join NYPD following Sept 11 terror attacks
When Haque joined the NYPD in 2004, he was one of just a few Bangladeshi immigrants. Many of those who joined around then wanted to dispel the notion that all Muslims were terrorist sympathisers, he said.
Haque, who immigrated to the US in 1991, had recently graduated college with a business administration degree when the twin towers fell. But rather than follow his peers into a financial field, he enrolled in the police academy, a decision he acknowledged was initially met with scepticism from his parents.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the NYPD built up a domestic surveillance programme that for years systematically spied on Muslim communities and monitored local businesses, mosques and student groups in a hunt for terror cells.
Haque, 52, who retired earlier this year after becoming the first South Asian and first Muslim to attain the rank of lieutenant commander in the NYPD, said the perception of Muslims among rank-and-file members has improved.
Early in his career, he recalled feeling singled out when a counterterrorism expert warned officers during a training session about the possibility of al-Qaida operatives infiltrating the force.
“Over the years, people started to realise that we work hard, we are ethical,” Haque said. “Although we are immigrants, we are patriotic.”
Path to NYPD badge begins with civilian police jobs
To grow their numbers, Haque and others went out into the community proselytising a sensible path for recently arrived immigrants.
Aspiring Bangladeshi officers were encouraged to take civilian jobs in the department, such as traffic enforcement officers and school safety agents, that don't require US citizenship. After gaining citizenship, usually in about five years, they could then apply for the police academy to become a uniformed officer.
Some 60 per cent of all officers of Bangladeshi heritage in the NYPD followed this pipeline, Haque estimated. Islam, the officer killed last week, began his career as a school safety officer after immigrating to the US about 16 years ago.
The visible growth of Bangladeshis in the NYPD has helped many aspire to leadership roles in the department, just as generations of Irish, Italian and Latino immigrants did before them.
Among the uniformed officers with Bangladeshi roots are 10 detectives, 82 sergeants, 20 lieutenants and four inspectors, said Sgt. Ershadur Siddique, current president of the Bangladeshi American Police Association. The department's uniformed ranks are roughly 38 per cent white, 33 per cent Hispanic, 17 per cent Black and nearly 12 per cent Asian, according to NYPD data.
“I never dreamt that I would go this far, but I always had an ambition to go somewhere where I can be challenged,” said Siddique, now a member of Mayor Eric Adams' security detail. “I always say, 'Listen, give me a chance, see if I can do better than anybody else,' you know? Give me a chance.”