Holly MatkinPoughkeepsie, NY – A local brew created in memory of slain City of Poughkeepsie Police Detective John Falcone sold out less than two hours after it was released.
“This Thursday at 2pm we will release PK’s Finest,” Zeus Brewing Company said in a Facebook post on Feb. 16. “This beer is a collaboration with the CPPD and being released on the 10 year Anniversary of the day that Detective John Falcone was killed in the line of duty.”
A portion of each of the $17 four-pack of PK’s Finest, a hazy India pale ale, was donated to the Dutchess County 10-13 foundation, according to the brewery.
The nonprofit organization helps support law enforcement officers and their families during times of illness or financial hardship, according to its website.
Zeus Brewing Company co-owner Jeremy Phillips said the brew was crafted with the help of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department (CPPD), whose officers opted to go with a hazy IPA versus a hale ale or pilsner, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported.
A gold shield emblazons the bold, blue label on each can, which also includes Det. Falcone’s name and department.
“We had plans to pack the brewery with people for this beer launch, but thanks to COVID, we made this shift to cans only,” Phillips told the Poughkeepsie Journal ahead of the event.
Hundreds of friends, family members, and first responders gathered on Det. John Falcone Memorial Avenue on Feb. 18 to mark the tenth anniversary of the veteran officer’s line-of-duty death, Spectrum News reported.
They laid a wreath at his memorial site and observed a moment of silence before heading over to Zeus Brewing Company to raise a glass in his honor.
Det. Falcone served the CPPD for 18 years.
“He put his life on the line – not unexpected for John to do that,” Police Benevolent Association president and CPPD Detective Christopher Libolt told Spectrum News. “He was very good at what he did and he loved working for the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department.”
Within two hours, every can of PK’s Finest had been sold.
“It’s a great honor for him, and it’s just…another thing to add to his legacy that everybody can enjoy,” said Robert Frank, Det. Falcone’s cousin. “When they look at it, they could just have fond memories of John as both a police officer and as a person.”
Phillips told Spectrum News the special brew is “a tribute for all of our first responders who go out day in and day out and put their lives on the line for all of us.”
“Jeremy Phillips and his staff did a phenomenal job in developing the Falcone beer for us,” Det. Libolt told the Mid Hudson News. “We are honored to support the 10-13 Foundation and by the look of things, Jeremy might have to make a second production run.”
Det. Falcone was 44 years old when he responded to a report of shots fired on Main Street on Feb. 18, 2011, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
He arrived to find a suspect armed with a gun holding a three-year-old child.
The gunman took off running with the child, so the detective chased after him.
He managed to get the child away from the suspect and into the hands of a bystander before getting into a physical altercation with the gunman, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
As the fight ensued, the suspect fatally shot Det. Falcone in the head.
The gunman fatally shot himself in the head while fighting with a second officer, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Investigators found the suspect’s wife’s body in a car parked nearby a short while later.
She had also been shot in the head.
Det. Falcone left behind his parents, as well as his sister and two nephews, according to his obituary.
