Det. Francis X. O’Rourke was appointed to the force on September 16, 1946. He was first assigned to the 15th Precinct (the East 35th Street stationhouse) in Manhattan. On August 7, 1955, O’Rourke was promoted to Detective. He was assigned to the 32 Squad. On the morning of January 20, 1958, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Det. O’Rourke and a partner set out to apprehend a subject at an apartment house at 134 West 143rd Street in upper Manhattan. When the two Officers arrived at the scene, they were refused entry. While they were in the hallway, they heard a noise that sounded like a window opening. Det. O’Rourke tried forcibly to push in the apartment door, however, the subject had escaped through the window. The partners were able eventually to arrest others still in the apartment. Hours later, O’Rourke telephoned a doctor. Suspecting that he had injured his chest while trying to push in the door, he did not suspect there was another reason for his chest pains. Unfortunately, the next afternoon on January 21st, at approximately 3:30 p.m., a call was placed for an ambulance. O’Rourke had suffered a heart attack at his home in Pearl River in Orangetown, New York. But efforts to revive him failed. O’Rourke was pronounced dead at the Pearl River Hospital. He was 37 years old and survived by his wife. In year 2000, his name was added to the line of duty memorial wall at the 32 Precinct.