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December 5, 2006
For Immediate Release |
Contact: Albert O'Leary
212-298-9190
or Joseph Mancini
212-298-9150
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PBA “Finest of the Finest” awards
Saving the lives of infants was a specialty of two of the 43
NYPD officers being honored today for feats of bravery and compassion
at the PBA’s traditional “Finest of the Finest” awards
ceremony at Manhattan’s Water Club.
The
event’s honorees – who received a commemorative plaque
and a sumptuous luncheon for them and their families – included
the Staten Island police officer who rescued a drowning baby,
and then was seriously injured himself a few months later in
another incident, the quick-thinking cop who saved the
life of a choking little boy, and 39 other police officers and
two sergeants who risked life and limb to serve and protect.
“We
call this event ‘The Finest of the Finest’ for obvious
reasons,” said PBA President Patrick J. Lynch. “These
awards mean more to the officer on the job than all the others
because it’s all about being recognized by your peers.”
Accounts
of incidents for which
the officers were honored
Police
Officers Matee Brisbane and Cornell
Enoch of the 44 Pct. are named the Finest
of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend
Their Lives and the Life of a Fellow Police Officer in a Life-and-Death
Confrontation with an Armed Perpetrator.
These officers encountered a man on the street waving a
gun – he apparently had just tried to rob some drug dealers.
The gunman ignored repeated warnings to drop his weapon and,
in fact, pointed it at the cops. Officer Brisbane discharged
three rounds at the perpetrator, and Officer Enoch fired four
times. The perp then surrendered and the incident ended with
no injuries and only minor property damage.
Police Officer Kenneth O’Connor of the 47 Pct. is named
the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave, Quick-Thinking
and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His Life and the Life of an
Innocent Civilian in an Off-Duty Confrontation With an Armed
Attempted Robber.
This officer was off duty and sitting in a parked car with
a female acquaintance when a man approached them from the rear
and pointed a handgun at them. When the gunman pointed his
weapon at the woman’s head, Officer O’Connor got
out of the car, drew his off-duty 38-caliber and shot the perp
in the nose area of the face, causing him to drop his weapon.
The officer then pulled the woman to safety and the gunman
was apprehended and taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Police Officer Edgar Louis-Juste of the 19th Pct. is named the
Finest of the Finest for Swift, Quick-Thinking, Expert and Compassionate
Action Taken to Save the Life of a Choking Infant and Secure
Medical Attention for a Seriously Injured Nanny.
The incident began when a truck hit a nanny who was crossing
an Upper-East-Side street with a baby boy in her arms. The
nanny had been rushing the child to a nearby hospital because
he wasn’t breathing. This officer sprung into action.
He called and ambulance for the nanny, and commandeered an
SUV driven by a retired NYPD officer who drove them him and
the child to New York hospital. The baby’s life was saved.
The next day’s newspaper headlines called this officer
a hero. We agree.
Police Officers Nicholas Douglas, Daniel
Ehrenreich, Zachary
Bonner, William Coyle and Evelio
Rosario of the 32 Pct. are named
the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action
Taken to Defend Their Lives, the Lives of Fellow Police Officers
and the Lives of Innocent Civilians in a Deadly Confrontation
with an Armed Murderer.
When these officers arrived on the scene, a gunman had just
shot his estranged wife and her male companion – who
subsequently died. The man, a New York City Corrections officer,
pointed his authorized 9-millimeter Glock at the cops and refused
orders to drop the weapon. “You’re going to have
to shoot me,” he told them. They had no choice but to
comply. The gunman joined his male victim as a DOA.
Police Officers James Smith and Brendan
Heaps of the Midtown
North Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Alert, Quick-Thinking
and Valiant Action Taken in Risking His Life to Help Save Residents
From a Burning Building.
These officers were on patrol when they got a call about
a fire in a four-story apartment building at 401 West 50th
Street. When they got to the location, smoke was pouring out
of the roof, the source of the blaze. At great risk to their
own safety, they rushed into the building to search for possible
trapped victims and, starting from the roof, made their way
down, knocking on each door, getting all residents to safety.
Police Officers Kevin Kee and Ricardo
Chi of the 13th Pct. are
named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave, Quick-Thinking
and Intelligent Action Taken to Apprehend an Armed Robber.
This incident began when two men, one of them armed, approached
two other men on the street and demanded cash. After handing
over their property, one of the victims chased the perps and
the other gave these officers a description of the suspects.
Armed with this information, the officers were able to canvas
the neighborhood and apprehend the armed suspect, with no injuries
to anyone.
Police Officer Brian Sheehy of the 120 Pct. is named the Finest
of the Finest for Extremely Quick-Thinking, Brave and Valiant
Action Taken in Plunging Into Icy New York Harbor to Save a Drowning
Infant Boy.
This incident also earned banner headlines in the daily
newspapers. It started when an emotionally disturbed man tried
to commit suicide by diving into the freezing waters of New
York Harbor with his eight-month-old son in his arms. Witnessing
this, Officer Sheehy dropped his gun belt and jumped into the
waters after them. The baby was floating on is back about 20
feet from shore, and this officer managed to save the child’s
life. Officer Sheehy has continued to give his all to serve
and protect New Yorkers. A few months after this rescue, he
was seriously injured in an RMP accident while responding to
a burglary in progress.
Police Officer James Butler of the 122 Pct. is named the Finest
of the Finest for Compassionate, Alert and Quick-Thinking Action
Taken to Save the Life of a Woman Attempting Suicide in a Leap
from a 40-Foot Roof.
This officer tried for almost an hour to talk a suicidal
woman out of her death leap. After climbing to the roof up
a metal ladder, he cautiously tried psychology to talk her
away from the ledge. Then, when she ran toward the ledge in
a final attempt to jump, he rushed her, tackled her and brought
her to safety.
Police Officers Hector Ramirez and John
Antonacci of the 81
Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and
Valiant Action Taken While Being Wounded in a Life-and-Death
Struggle With an Armed Emotionally Disturbed Person.
An emotionally disturbed person set a fire, locked himself
in his room and began screaming about “burning the devil.” This
is the situation these officers encountered in the SRO location
of the 911 call. From there, it got worse. The EDP had a .44
Magnum and he fired it at the officers, getting Officer Ramirez
just above the heart, luckily in his vest, and Antonacci a
graze wound in the back. Despite being wounded, they were able
to subdue and arrest the suspect.
Police Officers Milko Mejia and Anthony
Reynolds of the 88 Pct.
are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Tactically
Sound Action Taken to Defend Their Lives and the Life of a Fellow
Police Officer in a Deadly Confrontation With an Armed Perpetrator.
For these officers, the incident began explosively, with
gunshots fired in their direction. They responded by locating
the shooter, standing outside his double-parked vehicle with
two other individuals sitting inside. After ignoring orders
to drop his weapon, the gunman got into the car. Then he got
out again and pointed the gun at cops. While one officer covered
all suspects with his service weapon, the other fired four
times, fatally wounding the suspect. The officers showed great
courage and used great tactics, ending the threat.
Police Officer Andrew Rydlewski and Sgt. Ajay
Kapour of the
67 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave
and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His Life, the Life of a Fellow
Police Officer and the Lives of Innocent Civilians in an Exchange
of Gunfire with an Uzi-Toting Assailant.
These officers were summoned to an after-hours joint at
4:30 a.m. where a customer had just been denied entry because
he was carrying a two-foot-long Uzi with 30 rounds in the clip.
As soon as he saw these cops, of course, he opened fire, and
they returned the compliment, hitting the suspect in the torso
and legs, and blowing off his finger and his penis. The suspect,
with a long criminal record, had once owned the gun that killed
Police Officer Dillon Stewart. He also now faces life in prison
under a new law, championed by the PBA, that toughens the penalties
for crimes against cops.
Police Officers Patrick Gaines, Brian
DeBoer, Scott Chin and
Claude Jean-Pierre of the 70 Pct. are named the Finest of the
Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend
Their Lives, the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and the Lives
of Innocent Civilians in an Exchange of Gunfire with Two Criminals.
Responding to a report of a man with a shotgun, these officers
and a sergeant heard many shots being fired from around the
corner. Then they saw two men with handguns running toward
them. Officer Gaines shouted, “Police, don’t move,” and
the perp pointed his weapon at the sergeant, who fired his
weapon. The officers chased the suspect, exchanged gunfire
with him and physically struggled with him until they subdued
and apprehended him with no further incident.
Police Officers William Scheffler and Piotr
Pszeniczny of the
114 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave
and Valiant Action Taken in an Auto Chase and Foot Pursuit Leading
to the Capture of Three Armed Robbers Wanted for Several Crimes.
The call was armed robbery. These officers identified and
vehicle and chased it from Queens over the Triborough Bridge
into the Bronx. It was a frantic, dangerous auto chase and
then, when the perps abandoned their vehicle, a foot chase
through streets and back alleys. They collared one of the robbers,
who turned out to be someone wanted for several similar crimes
in the Bronx.
Police Officer Christopher Wiesneski of the 105 Pct. is named
the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action
Taken to Uphold the Law and Defend His Life in a Violent Struggle
With an Attempted Murderer.
On scooter patrol, this officer spotted a man rolling a
marijuana cigarette. When he approached the suspect, the officer
noticed that he was armed, so the officer drew his weapon and
to involved in a struggle with the perp. In that struggle,
the officer’s firearm went off, striking him near the
left knee. Despite this wound, the officer was able to transmit
a 10-13 and enough information to lead to the eventually apprehension
of the suspect.
Police Officers Michael Clark, Brendan
Parpan and Shawn Gallagher of the 105 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely
Alert, Brave and Valiant Action Taken in a Violent Struggle to
Apprehend an Armed Suspect.
It started, as is often the case, with a routine car-stop
for a defective light. In questioning the driver, the officers
suspected a handgun in his waistband. When they patted him
down, the suspect fled on foot. They finally cornered the suspect
hiding under a parked truck. They ordered him out at gunpoint
and then he got into a physical struggle with Officer Clark
and the cop’s gun went off in the struggle. No one was
hurt and the suspect was cuffed. His weapon was found secreted
in the underside of the truck.
Police Officers Anthony Francavilla and Paul
Chaves of Transit
District #1 are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely
Quick-Thinking, Alert and Valiant Action Leading to the Recovery
of Stolen Property and the Arrest of Four Perpetrators of an
Armed Robbery.
These officers responded to a report of a robbery at gunpoint.
Following up on a description of the perpetrators in their
mobile car, they stopped a vehicle fitting that description.
The two suspects ran from the car and these officers gave chase,
finally apprehending them and recovering the firearm used in
the robbery, with no injuries to anyone.
Police Officers Horace Robinson, Alexander
Mercado, Carlos Deleon,
Francisco Rivera and Raisa
Estevez of Transit District #11 are
named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Quick-Thinking,
Alert and Valiant Action Taken in a Violent Struggle With and
Apprehension of an Armed Suspect.
These officers responded to a shots-fired on the southbound
#2 train at 149th Street and Park Avenue. They saw a man that
fit the perp’s description and, as they approached him,
he made a run for it. After a physical struggle, in which Officer
Robinson sustained an injury to his elbow, they managed to
apprehend the suspect and recover his weapon.
Police Officer Albert Brust of PSA #3 is named the Finest of
the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend
His Life, the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and the Lives of
Innocent Civilians in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Criminal
Assailant.
In an unmarked department van, this officer saw a large
group running and heard gunfire coming from the vicinity of
the crowd. Officer Brust got out of the van and ran toward
the group. Seeing a man with a gun, he ordered him to put down
the weapon but received only gunshots in return. Undeterred,
this officer apprehended the gunman and ended the threat with
no further incident.
Police Officers Jason Jeremiah and Dominick
Desiervi of PSA
#1 are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and
Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives and the Life of a
Fellow Police Officer in a Potentially Deadly Confrontation With
a Crazed Assailant.
These officers were responding to a noise complaint at an
outdoor party with music. As they were dealing with the disc
jockey, another man, drunk and abusive, decided to get into
the act. When his actions escalated to the point of criminality,
they tried to cuff him. Then another man got involved by swinging
a scooter in “helicopter-type” motion at the cops
and striking Officer Jeremiah in the back of the head. From
there things got uglier and the officers, with no avenue of
escape, were forced to fire, striking the assailant and stopping
the threat.
Police Officer John Baumeister and Sgt. Michael
Ingram of the
47 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave
and Valiant Action Taken to Defend the Life of a Fellow Police
Officer in a Violent Confrontation With a Knife-Wielding and
Murderous Perpetrator.
The incident began when this officer and this sergeant visited
a Yonkers bar after their shifts at the 47. Two men were told
to leave the place because they were causing a disturbance.
Outside the bar, with Officer Baumeister trying to calm things
down, one of the men stabbed the cop twice, in the neck and
back. Sergeant Ingram fired two shots at the stabber, who was
DOA.
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