Retired NYPD detective, adaptive hockey coach remembered after tragic death

A former NYPD detective who responded to 9/11 and who later became a beloved hockey coach for disabled players took his own life last week — leaving behind a hole in the hearts of his many players and loved ones.

Peter Gianatiempo, known to many as “Coach Pete,” served 26 years on the force, including 19 in the Organized Crime Control Bureau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home, just days before he was set to return to coaching in an adaptive hockey league in Connecticut. He was 61.

Dawn Gianatiempo said her husband loved being a cop, but the intense nature of the job weighed heavily on his mind after retiring in 2014.

“Pete saw things that I couldn’t understand as a civilian, only his brothers in blue could,” she told the New York Post. “He retired but he missed the job and thought a lot about what he’d seen.”

On Sept. 11, 2001, Dawn remembers her husband running toward danger and then battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for years after.

“I thought the world was ending and Pete said, ‘I have to go to work,’ and then I didn’t see him for days,” Gianatiempo said. “That’s what he wanted to do and everything he did was 100% from the heart.”

Gianatiempo grew up in Woodside, Queens, and graduated from Monsignor McClancy High School in 1982, where he played soccer. He met Dawn in 1984, married her in 1992 and had two children: Nicole, now 30, and Peter, 26.

Gianatiempo, who lived in Cortlandt Manor in Westchester, spent his retirement working security — and coached for the New York Junior Rangers program in New York and Connecticut.

His passion for coaching began when his kids started playing sports. His son’s work in therapeutic recreation inspired Gianatiempo’s tireless advocacy for adaptive hockey.

“When I got into the special needs field, my dad wanted to learn more about it,” Peter Gianatiempo told The Post. “It made him want to coach adaptive hockey.”

In Sept. 2021, the New York Rangers released a video highlighting Gianatiempo’s work with a young girl facing anger issues and personal challenges.

“I found out after the second week that Daniella had some special needs, but I didn’t let that take away from teaching her the game of hockey,” he said.

In late-2024, Gianatiempo began coaching for the Danbury Hat Tricks youth teams and the Northern Bravehearts, an adaptive hockey program, in Danbury, Conn. Parents called his involvement a godsend.

“Pete always said that hockey is for everyone, and he took it upon himself to deliver that to people,” said Dominick Alessandro, whose 17-year-old son, Luke, plays adaptive hockey.

Alessandro said he worked with Gianatiempo this summer to update the Bravehearts logo and plan ways to grow the program.

“There are special hockey tournaments around the country, and Pete wanted to build the program to that point where we could take some kids to represent Danbury,” Alessandro said. “These were plans we had; I don’t understand it.”

News of his death shook the hockey community.

“Heartbroken to lose a great man last night,” former NHL goaltender Stephen Valiquette posted on X.

“Pete Gianatiempo was more than a [Rangers] supporter — he was a brother. A retired NYPD detective and 9/11 first responder, he gave endlessly to the game and his community. Rest easy, Pete. You’ll always be with us.”

Ron Rogell, a member of the New York Rangers Sled Hockey Team and the so-called “Mayor of Danbury Arena,” remembered Gianatiempo’s sense of humor and warmth – and his cologne.

“If he wasn’t busting your chops, he didn’t like you,” Rogell said. “Right away I thought to myself, ‘We’re going to be good friends.’ And we were.

“He was very well kept and wore tons of cologne; a running joke was that you could smell him before you could see him.”

Several memorials and charity hockey games are planned in his honor.

The Danbury Hat Tricks minor professional team announced they will host the NYPD Hockey Club on Nov. 12 in the “Blueline Classic,” honoring Gianatiempo.

On Saturday night at Danbury Arena, The Ultimate Goalie Showdown, a hockey exhibition game showcasing viral talent, held a ceremony featuring a moment of silence in his memory.

Gianatiempo’s funeral is planned for Tuesday in Westchester.

Prior to his death, Gianatiempo was looking forward to his daughter’s wedding in October. In June, he started working security at a warehouse in Nyack, a job his wife said he was enjoying.

“He was himself again — watching cameras, questioning people,” she said. “It was the closest thing to police work he did after he left the job.”

Alessandro, meanwhile, said he’s now struggling to find a way to explain Pete’s absence to his son, who has Down Syndrome.

“I’m literally going to have to tell him that he moved away,” Alessandro said. “There’s no way I can tell him Pete’s gone.”