NYPD detective Troy Patterson dies 33 years after being shot during botched robbery

A New York City police officer who spent more than three decades in a vegetative state after being shot in the head during a botched robbery has died, officials said.

Detective Troy Patterson, who was off duty when he was shot on Jan. 16, 1990, died Saturday, Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said Monday.

Patterson was washing his car on a street in Brooklyn when he was approached by three young men who demanded $20, police said. One of the robbers, who was 15 years old, shot Patterson.