Mayor Bill de Blasio paid his respects to Eddie Byrne, the NYPD officer shot to death in his squad car more than 25 years ago.

Byrne was gunned down February 26, 1988 while guarding a house in Queens, where a would be witness in a drug case lived.

The mayor used the memorial to give credit to all city officers.

"He was doing something for the right reasons, with a sense of courage, commitment and purpose that so many people that day and every day since who have worn the uniform of the NYPD," said de Blasio.

Byrne's killing became a turning point for the NYPD, prompting the department to change its tactics in its war on drug gangs.

All four men involved in the killing were convicted, and are serving 25 years to life sentences.