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Sayville girls lax legend — an NYPD rookie — following in her dad’s footsteps

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Mackenzie Burns became a cop due to three main influences: Her dad, her hometown and her desire to give back and help society.

“I feel very fortunate to have been able to grow up in Sayville and be second-generation here,” Burns, who joined the NYPD in mid-March at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s first New York surge, told GreaterSayville.

“I wanted to follow in my fathers footsteps and become an NYPD officer,” she continued. “Growing up in Sayville, I have a lot of friends who have parents who are cops or firemen, and I knew from a young age, that’s what I wanted to be.”

Burns, a four-year varsity player for Sayville and three-year starter on Stony Brook University’s strong lacrosse team, is featured this month in US Lacrosse Magazine. The far-ranging, feature article highlights her lacrosse and law enforcement careers, and reflects on what’s been a tumultuous first year as a member of New York’s Finest.

“As a little girl, I always looked up to my dad,” Burns said in the US Lacrosse article, of her father Joe, who retired in 2011 after 21 years with the NYPD.

Her badge No. 8132 is the same one her father wore: “I was very proud of him. I knew I always wanted to do that. I followed in his footsteps and became a police officer.”

Click here to read the US Lacrosse Magazine article featuring Burns

In the magazine article, Burns discusses the health challenges of working as a police officer during the pandemic, and then the safety and community relations challenges of being a cop during a time when protests against racial injustice and police brutality were sweeping the country.

She tested positive for COVID-19 in April and suffered “a long couple of weeks” with mild symptoms, Burns told US Lacrosse.

Later in the spring, back at work, she described in the magazine article seeing graffiti in front of New York City Hall that read, “The best cops are dead cops,” compared to the pandemic response’s early days when people dropped off food baskets and masks at her Queens precinct.

“What happened in Minneapolis with George Floyd was tragic,” Burns told US Lacrosse, noting that the NYPD has since become more focused on community relations. “That shouldn’t have happened.” 

Burns, who has already co-founded the NYPD’s new women’s lacrosse program, is part of the U.S. Women’s National Team player pool, and she is trying out for a chance to compete for the U.S. at the 2021 World Lacrosse Women’s World Championships this June.

Check out some nice photos of Burns at her graduation from the Police Academy and on the playing field.


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