New signage unveiled at Hempstead Lake's pond to honor local hero

A new tribute to a NYPD detective from Malverne was unveiled Friday at a Rockville Centre pond.
In July 1986, NYPD Officer Steven McDonald was shot and paralyzed. When he returned home, they honored him by renaming the pond at Hempstead Lake State Park, the McDonald Pond.
However, for years, many weren't really sure who the pond was named after. Now, new signage was put in place at Hempstead Lake's pond to remind visitors.
"He loved coming by here as a little kid, he would take me by here and tell me this pond was named after him. He was so proud of that, and for you to rededicate that so everyone knows his story and what he was all about is so important to my mother and I," says Conor McDonald, Steven's son.
McDonald, who was confined to a wheelchair, forgave the teenager who shot him and traveled the world serving as an example of true forgiveness. He died in 2017.
"His memory and his story will continue and live on," says Patti Ann McDonald, Steven's wife.