 |
January 31,
2008
For Immediate Release |
Contact: Albert O'Leary
PBA Communications Director
212-298-9190
or
Joseph Mancini
212-298-9150 |
FINEST OF THE FINEST
Deceased Police Officer Russell Timoshenko,
his wounded hero partner P.O.Herman Yan and P.O. Gregory
Chin who saved the life of an elderly woman
being attacked with a carving knife are among the 39 hero police
officers honored today (Wednesday, Jan. 31) by their peers at the
PBA’s “Finest of the
Finest” award
ceremony.
The event was held at Manhattan¹s Water Club, 30th St. and East
River Drive.
The event¹s honorees — who received a commemorative
plaque and an elaborate luncheon for them and their families — were
praised by PBA President Patrick J. Lynch.
“Our officers are formally recognized for their achievements — and
deservedly so — by many agencies and institutions, including
the NYPD, the mayor¹s office and other public and private
entities. But none of the other awards mean as much to them, and
to the PBA, as these. And that¹s because,
as I say so often, they have earned these awards in the judgment
of their peers other
police officers. This makes them special.”
The following is a list of all the honorees and descriptions
of the incidents for which they were honored.
P.O.s Annemarie Marchiondo, Diana
Lugo and Jose Santana of TD-11
are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant
Action Taken to Defend Their Lives and the Lives of Fellow Police
Officers in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Murderous Assailant.
On plainclothes patrol on the #4 train in the Bronx, these
officers stopped three men who were who walking from one car
into another for violating the “unsafe riding” rules. While the
officers were collecting information from the violators so they
could issue summonses, one of the men got into a violent struggle
with Officer Marchiondo. The suspect got the officer in a headlock
and pointed a loaded 45-caliber handgun at her head. When the suspect
pointed the gun at the other officers, Officer Marchiondo managed
to escape the suspect¹s grip, and a gunfight broke out.
At the end of the battle, Officer Marchiondo had suffered three
gunshot wounds and the suspect was D.O.A.
P.O. Gregory Chin of TD-3 is named the Finest of the Finest for
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Off Duty to Defend
His Life and to Save the Lives of Innocent Victims in a Confrontation
With a Perpetrator Armed With a Carving Knife.
The suspect in this incident had already slashed a restaurant chef
with a carving knife. He was on the street and doing the same to
a 67-year-old woman who was just walking her dog when Officer Chin,
off duty, came on the scene. This officer, identifying himself
and shouting instructions to drop the weapon, tried to end the
encounter peacefully, but when the suspect came at him with the
knife, he stopped the threat with one bullet from his department-authorized
firearm.
P.O.s Scott McKenna and Sgt. Sean
Lynskey of PSA#5 are named the
Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken
to Defend Their Lives and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and
Innocent Civilians in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Murderous Assailant.
When these officers encountered the suspect in a shooting,
his gun was drawn and he had already fatally shot one victim
and wounded two innocent bystanders. “Get on the ground, drop the gun,
drop the gun,” the officers commanded. He didn¹t
comply until the officers stopped him with their Glocks. The
suspect was wounded but survived to pay for his crime.
P.O.s Philip Roy, Keith Adamiszyn, Brian
McCloskey and Edilio Cruz
of the
109 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave
and Resourceful Action Taken to Apprehend Four Home-Invading Armed
Robbers.
The four suspects in this incident had just committed a home-invasion
robbery in which they were escaping with money, jewels and other
property when these officers got to the scene. The suspects tried
to escape through a rear second-floor-bedroom window but were apprehended
by these quick-thinking cops, who had to physically subdue the
suspects before making the arrests.
P.O.s Michael Sinner, Meliza
Meade, Paul Sorocco, Joseph
Cappelman
and Daniel Schmelter of the 102 Pct. and P.O.s George
Bodenmiller
and Michael Hayes of the Queens South Task Force are named the
Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken
to Defend Their Lives and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers in
an Exchange of Gunfire With an Armed Robber.
These officers were responding to a gunpoint robbery committed
by three suspects. They quickly apprehended two of them but the
third one, riding a bike and armed, proved a little more elusive.
After a chase, an exchange of gunfire, and a game of hide-and-seek,
they cornered the suspect, who abandoned his weapon only after
it had misfired a couple of times. They wrestled him to the ground
and took him into custody.
P.O.s John Schmitt and Rebecca
Asman of the 113 Pct. are named
the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action
Taken to Defend His Lives and the Life of a Fellow Police Officer
in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Perpetrator.
While in uniform and on routine foot patrol, these officers heard
gunshots and rushed to the scene. They observed the gunman firing
in a direction opposite to their approach. The gunman then turned
toward them. Ignoring commands to drop the weapon, he fired once
at them and Officer Schmitt fired once in reply. The officers then
chased the gunman up the street and when they were closing in on
him, he wised up and dropped his weapon. They arrested him without
further incident and with no one getting hurt.
P.O.s Michael Welsh and Christopher
Scott of the 48 Pct. are named
the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Resourceful Action
Taken Without Regard for Their Own Safety to Rescue Twelve People
From Burning Buildings.
With flaming debris raining down on them, these officers rushed
into a burning building, calling out to alert residents, kicking
down doors and leading people to safety. No sooner had they rescued
all those in danger in one building, than did they do the same
in the building next door. In all, they rescued a dozen potential
victims, including two infants.
P.O. Silverio Calisi of the 49 Pct. is named the Finest of the
Finest for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His
Life and the Lives of Innocent Civilians in a Violent Confrontation
With an Axe-Wielding Assailant.
This officer was one of many called to the scene where an EDP was
behind a locked door in a sixth-floor apartment. He had been heard
threatening to take the life of his son and was observed waving
an axe over his head. While ESU cops were attempting to enter the
apartment, Officer Calisi was stationed in an apartment on the
floor below to guard against the suspect fleeing down the fire
escape. Sure enough, the EDP and his axe got out through his bedroom
window and onto the fire escape and came at the officer with the
deadly weapon. Officer Calisi discharged one round, stopping the
threat. The EDP was DOA at the hospital.
P.O.s Robert Tejada, Jorge
Tobon, Brian Cregan and John
Anzelino
of the 25 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely
Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives and the Lives
of Fellow Police Officers in a Confrontation With an Armed Assailant.
Responding to confidential information about a man with a gun,
these officers proceeded to a cafe where the gunman was located.
With their shields displayed, they attempted to pat down the suspect,
who resisted. The suspect drew his weapon and fired, striking Officer
Tejada twice. In defense of their lives and the lives of their
fellow officers, they returned fire and stopped the threat. The
suspect died at the hospital.
P.O.s Erik Merizalde and Rory
Mangra of the 78 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 and
in Apprehending an Armed Perpetrator.
While on motor patrol, these officers observed two men, one
of whom appeared to be smoking a joint. As Officer Mangra got
out of the car and approached the pair, one of them started
to run. Officer Mangra chased on foot and Officer Merizalde
cut the fugitive off with the RMP. Officer Mangra struggled
with the suspect, who produced a handgun and shot the officer
in the right foot. When Officer Merizalde saw the suspect try
to point the gun at his partner again, he knocked the weapon
out of the suspect¹s hand and
both cops subdued and apprehended the gunman.
P.O. Russell Timoshenko of the 71 Pct. is named the Finest of the
Finest for Extremely Brave, Valiant and Selfless Action Above and
Beyond the Call of Duty in Making the Supreme Sacrifice for the
Citizens of New York City; and his partner, P.O. Herman
Yan of
the 71 Pct., is named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave
and Valiant Action Taken While Being Wounded in That Incident and
Taking Action That Led to the Apprehension of a Murderer Who Had
Taken the Life of a Fellow Police Officer.
These officers were the victims of a highly-publicized and cowardly
attack at a suspicious car-stop. Officer Timoshenko sacrificed
his life and Officer Yan was seriously wounded by the gunman in
the vehicle, who opened fire without warning as they approached.
Despite his wounds, Officer Yan was able to return 14 rounds and
to provide enough information about the fugitive suspects to lead
to their apprehension.
P.O.s Kenneth Avila, Juan
Gonzalez, Daniel Mallick, William
Ruiz
and Jonathan Wilds of the 77 Pct. are named the Finest of the Finest
for Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives
and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and Innocent Civilians
in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Crazed and Murderous Car-Jacker.
Crazed after being dumped by his girlfriend, the perpetrator
in this incident hijacked a car, pumped two bullets into his
girlfriend’s
front door, crashed the hijacked car into the front of an unoccupied
store, and then tried to hijack another car at gunpoint. When
the second motorist fled, he shot at the car, missed and hit
an innocent bystander in the arm. Then he succeeded in hijacking
another car and crashing it into a lamppost. When these officers
got to the scene, the suspect was leaning over the hood of
a parked car aiming his gun in a combat position. They struggled
with him in an attempt to disarm him, but were finally compelled
to respond to his armed threat with gunfire. He was DOA at
Kings County Hospital.
P.O.s Michael Tavolario and Brian
McIvor of the 75 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
and an Innocent Civilian in a Confrontation With an Armed Assailant.
This incident involved a domestic dispute in which an enraged
husband showed up with an armed friend or two, apparently seeking
to make trouble for his wife. When the husband pulled up in
a Ford Explorer, parking outside the wife¹s location, the wife’s sister’s
boyfriend was waiting with the cops.
One of the men fired a shot at the witness, not realizing that
the officers were close by. They identified themselves and yelled, “Police,
don¹t move,” but he pointed his gun at them. Both
officers opened fire, hitting the gunman several times. He
ended up in the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.
P.O.s George Aguilar and Eric
Loria of the 122 Pct. are named the
Finest of the Finest for Extremely Brave and Resourceful Action
Taken to Apprehend the Robbers of a Gas Station.
In response to a radio call about two men fleeing in a blue Volvo
after committing a gas station stickup, these officers began a
motor search of the Staten Island Expressway. They spotted a car
fitting the description on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and were
able to pull the suspect car over without further incident. From
the two men in the car, both of whom had felony records, they recovered
the cash taken from the gas station and an imitation pistol. The
perps were positively identified and locked up.
P.O.s Keith Gallagher and William
Svenstrup of the 9th Pct. are
named the Finest of the Finest for Extremely Compassionate, Quick-Thinking
and Resourceful Action Taken to Save the Life of a 21-Month-Old
Girl Who Had Stopped Breathing and Was on the Brink of Death.
Her name was Jay Lyn Arroyo, she was 21 months old and she
was turning blue in her mother¹s arms. She was unconscious
and had no pulse. That was the situation that confronted these
officers when they encountered the panicked mother and stricken
child on an East Village Street. The officers acted swiftly.
With the mother in the front passenger seat, Officer Svenstrup
gunned the RMP, lights and sirens blaring, in the direction
of the nearest hospital while Officer Gallagher performed CPR
on the baby in the back seat. It was his first time administering
CPR. And it worked. Little Jay sputtered her first breaths
before they reached the hospital and a team of waiting doctors
did the rest.
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