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January 12, 2006
For Immediate Release |
Contact: Albert O'Leary
212-298-9190
or Joseph Mancini
212-298-9150
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Finest of the Finest
A fallen war hero and two quick-acting and compassionate police
officers who saved the life of a 10-month-old victim of a psycho-stabbing
topped the list of intrepid honorees today (Thursday, Jan. 12) at
the traditional “Finest of the Finest” awards luncheon
sponsored by the New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association
(PBA).
U.S. Army Reserves Staff Sgt. James D. McNaughton, who when not
in military uniform wore NYPD-blue while patrolling Transit District
2, last summer became the first New York City police officer killed
in the line of duty while serving in the war in Iraq. Police Officer
McNaugton’s parents – his father is a recently retired
NYPD officer – were expected to attend the 1 p.m. luncheon
at the Water Club on East 30th St. to accept the award on their
son’s behalf.
Also expected to attend were the baby girl who was stabbed by
a delusional mental patient last September, as well as her grateful
parents and the devoted nanny who witnessed the attack. The resourceful
police officers whose speedy action delivered the child into life-saving
care were on hand to accept their awards.
Thirty-nine other New York City police officers were also cited
for acts of heroism and humanitarianism ranging from daring rescues
to dangerous gun battles.
PBA President Patrick J. Lynch and other members of the union’s
executive board hosted the bi-annual event. The honored officers
– accompanied by friends and family – were treated to
a cocktail party and lunch and presented with plaques commemorating
their deeds.
Lynch said: “By their extraordinary acts performed every
day, our police officers have earned the title, ‘New York’s
Finest.’ I like to call the officers honored here today the
‘Finest of the Finest’ because, of all the awards our
officers get, we value these most. The recipients, you see, are
selected by other police officers – by their peers –
which makes it all that much more special.”
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See below for accounts of incidents for which the officers were
honored.
Police Officers Matthew Costello and Kenneth Thompson of
the 46 Pct.
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 Dangerous Felon.
The perp in this case was acting like a Wild West gunslinger,
firing shots at a man he had just been fighting and arguing with.
Responding to shots fired, these officers confronted the suspect
and, at first, tried to apprehend him in hand-to-hand combat.
But when he turned his weapon against them, they opened fire.
He was DOA at the hospital. There were no other injuries.
Police Officers Lyssette Soto and Joseph Tucci of the 43
Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives
and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and Innocent Civilians
in a Confrontation With a Man Armed With a Shotgun.
These officers confronted a situation as dangerous as they
get – an emotionally disturbed person with a loaded shotgun,
and he’s angry and waving it around. They plead with him
to drop the weapon. He responds by cursing and aiming the piece
at them. They have no choice but to shoot him. He winds up in
a hospital in critical condition, and nobody else gets hurt.
Police Officers Peter Andre and Joseph Robinson of the
30 Pct.
Extremely Valiant, Quick-Thinking, Resourceful and Intelligent
Action Taken to Save the Life of a Woman Being Stabbed by a Desperate
Assailant.
When these officers got to the street-corner scene, the perp
was grabbing his female victim and threatening her with a knife.
When the cops ordered him to release the woman, he stabbed her
instead. The officers had to shoot him six times before he stopped
stabbing the woman, released her and collapsed. The victim was
taken to the hospital in serious condition. The assailant was
DOA.
Police Officers Walter Loor, Latonya Williams, Steven Eckert,
Rusty Garcia and Keith Beddows of the 28 Pct.
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 an Armed Robber.
What started out as an armed robbery developed into a shootout
on West 125th Street between the robbers and these five officers,
who had responded to the scene. There were two robbers, one of
them armed, and he was running, firing at the cops and ducking
behind parked cars. The officers returned fire and hit the shooter
seven times. He was DOA at the hospital. Two civilians were hit
in the crossfire and suffered non-life-threatening wounds.
Police Officers Merritt Riley and Marcel Sim of the Midtown
North Precinct
Extremely Quick-Acting and Resourceful Action Taken to Save the
Life of a Would-Be Suicide as He Began to Jump From a Four-Story
Ledge.
Quick action was what was called for, and quick action was
what this team of cops took, when they saved a suicidal 22-year-old
man from ending it all by leaping into the atrium at the Time
Warner Center. They tried to talk him down at first, but when
he actually started lunging into his jump, they grabbed him and
pulled him to safety – at great risk to their own safety,
I might add.
Police Officers Kevin Buehler, Christian Matthews, Marc
Hoffman and Robert Nicholson of the Midtown North Precinct
Extremely Swift and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives
and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and to Apprehend an Armed
Suspect Who Had Attempted to Murder the Police Officers.
The incident started when an armed drug suspect broke away
and fled from arresting officers. The two cops, joined by two
others, chased the perp on foot, even though he was firing at
them. Without firing their own weapons, they caught up with the
suspect – who had ditched his gun – and collared him
without further incident. There were no injuries.
Police Officer Luis Martinez of the 120 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Swimming 50 Yards
to Rescue From Drowning a Woman Who Had Attempted Suicide in the
Waters of New York Harbor.
It started when a woman, in an apparent suicide attempt,
found herself floating in New York Harbor about 50 yards out from
the Staten Island ferry terminal in Lower Manhattan. Cops on the
scene called for Harbor, Aviation and ESU backup, but Officer
Martinez, a U.S. Marine Corps-trained swimmer, decided there was
no time to lose. He swam out to her and kept her alive until the
divers could get there.
Police Officer Patrick Caprice of the 73 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His Life and
the Life of a Fellow Police Officer While Being Seriously Wounded
in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Dangerous Suspect.
“A courageous cop” is what the Daily News called
Officer Caprice the day after this incident. He was shot in the
arm and stomach in a shootout that followed a drug bust, but managed
to get off 14 shots at the gunman despite his wounds. With typical
modesty, Officer Caprice gave all the credit to the cops who got
him safely to the hospital. But we agree with his seven-year-old
son Isaiah. “He’s a brave man,” Isaiah told
the Daily News.
Police Officer Steven Lawrence of the 83 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Off Duty to Defend
His Life in an Exchange of Gunfire With an Armed Robber.
Officer Lawrence was off-duty and in a neighborhood bodega
when he noticed two men acting suspiciously. The officer went
to his car, which was parked nearby, but before he could get into
the vehicle one of the men approached him, pointed a gun at him
and tried to rob him. Officer Lawrence drew his off-duty weapon
and shot the robber in the left knee. He was eventually apprehended
by other officers, thanks to Officer Lawrence’s quick action
and follow-up information.
Police Officer Vincent Schiavarelli of Brooklyn Warrants
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Off Duty and While
Being Wounded in Saving a Storekeeper From Death at the Hands
of a Knife-Wielding Robber.
This incident made a big splash in the newspapers and on
TV news broadcasts last June. Officer Schiavarelli was off-duty
and grabbing a cup of coffee at a Dunkin’ Donuts when an
attempted robber pulled a knife on the sales clerk. Officer Schiavarelli
tackled the robber, getting stabbed in the side in the process,
and causing the perp to flee the store empty-handed. Other officers
soon tracked him down and apprehended the robber.
Police Officers Gleb Andreyeva, Luis Lopez, Keyshawn James
and Ron Sawyers of the 71 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives,
the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and the Life of an Innocent
Civilian in a Dangerous Confrontation With and Armed Murderer.
Responding to shots fired, these officers encounter a man
with a handgun in one hand and holding a woman victim in a headlock.
They ordered the gunman to release the hostage, but he refused,
daring them to shoot him. As soon as the woman broke free, they
obliged, hitting him in the torso and the knee. The man also tried
to shoot himself. He fell to the ground and was apprehended. Nearby,
the cops found the corpse of a man he had killed.
Police Officers Ronald Casazza, Michael Girdusky and Joseph
Kohrat of the 108 Pct.
Extremely Alert and Tactically Intelligent Action Leading to
the Apprehension of a Band of Burglars and Robbers.
While on patrol in an unmarked vehicle, these officers observed
a parked van that fit the description of one involved in two robberies
earlier in the day. As they approached, they actually witnessed
the van’s driver steal a purse from a female pedestrian.
The perps fled and the officers gave chase. The cops caught up
with the van in Long Island Expressway traffic and, after a struggle,
subdued and arrested the robber. In the van, they also recovered
property from five previous robberies.
Police Officer Daniel Diviccaro of the 115 Pct.
Extremely Brave, Alert and Quick-Thinking Action Taken to Rescue
a Young Girl From an Attack and Leading to the Apprehension of
a Serial Child Molester.
Officer Diviccaro was off-duty when he stopped a one-man
sex crime wave involving attacks on kids in a Queens park. While
driving his car, he spotted a man dragging a teenage girl into
the woods. After calling for backup, the officer chased the child
molester. The perp didn’t get far and was soon arrested
by backup officers who had flooded the area. He was identified
by two other children he had attacked a day or so earlier.
Police Officer Robert Burns of the 113 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His Life and
the Lives of a Fellow Police Officer and Innocent Civilians While
Being Seriously Wounded by a Dangerous Suspect.
and Police Officer Shannon Pearl of the 113 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Her Life,
the Lives of Innocent Civilians and the Life of a Fellow Police
Officer Who Was Seriously Wounded by a Dangerous Suspect.
A prowler had threatened to shoot a Queens homeowner, who
reported the incident to 911. These officers responded. When they
approached the suspect, he grabbed Officer Burns in a headlock
and slashed him in the throat with an eight-inch carper knife,
nearly killing him. Officer Pearl shot the perp in the right arm,
stopping the attack.
Police Officers David Harris and Dominic Romano of the
105 Pct.
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Being Wounded
to Defend Their Lives and the Life of a Fellow Police Officer
in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Shot-Gun-Wielding Emotionally
Disturbed Person Who Had Been Desecrating and Destroying Religious
Statues.
An emotionally disturbed person took it into his head last
July to start shooting up some religious statues in front of Saint
Joachim and Anne Roman Catholic Church. Officers Harris and Romano
responded to the shots-fired and as soon as they confronted the
suspect, before they could even get out of their vehicle, he starting
shooting at them. Both cops were struck and wounded but they returned
fire and felled the gunman, who was apprehended by other officers.
Police Officers Brian Quill, Darren Santiago and John Siraco
of PSA 3
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend Their Lives
and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers and Innocent Civilians
in a Confrontation With an Armed and Dangerous Felon.
While on foot patrol, these officers encountered a suspect
firing a weapon at another man. They called out many times for
the perp to drop his weapon but he turned it on them instead.
They opened fire, wounding the suspect and stopping the dangerous
situation.
Police Officers Erik Hansen and David Broadwell of PSA
5
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken While Being Wounded
to Defend Their Lives and the Lives of Fellow Police Officers
and Innocent Civilians in an Exchange of Gunfire With a Dangerous
Suspect.
While with their sergeant on routine patrol, these officers
encountered a man walking down the street carrying a handgun in
each hand. When the perp saw the cops, he started shooting. The
sergeant was hit, suffering serious injury, and so was Officer
Hansen, who was grazed in the right ankle. They exchanged gunfire
with the perp, who fled into a building and then jumped out of
a 14th-floor window. The perp went to the hospital in critical
condition. The officers were treated and released. And Sergeant
Patrick Boyle, who is with us here today, has also recovered nicely.
Police Officer Douglas John of Transit District 20
Extremely Brave and Valiant Action Taken to Defend His Life and
the Lives of Innocent Bystanders in a Deadly Confrontation With
and Knife-Wielding Assailant.
A drunken idiot had knifed another man and chased his victim
into the subway, intending to finish the job. When the victim
got away, the knifer started threatening innocent bystanders.
That’s the scene officer John encountered. He warned the
suspect to drop the knife at least 10 times but, after observing
that civilians were now is mortal danger, he shot the man once
in the chest. The perp was DOA.
AND NOW FOR TWO SPECIAL AWARDS.
Police Officers Victor Matos and Maria Franco of the 33
Pct.
Alert, Quick-Thinking and Resolute Action Taken to Save the
Life of a Ten-Month-Old Child, Victim of a Stabbing by an Emotionally
Disturbed Person.
This incident also made the news. A mental patient just walked
up to a nanny pushing a stroller on a sidewalk in Washington Heights
and began stabbing the 10-month-old girl who was in the stroller.
The nanny grabbed the child and hopped into a livery cab hoping
to get her to a hospital in time to save her life. But the taxi
got stuck in traffic and these officers got into the act. Officer
Franco took the child from the nanny, then handed her off to Officer
Matos and cleared a path for him through traffic so he could get
the child to Columbia Presbyterian. They stayed at the hospital
for the rest of their shift to make sure the baby survived. All
are with us today: the officers; the child, Isabelle Avins; the
child’s parents, and the nanny.
Police Officer James McNaughton of Transit District 2
Extremely Selfless Devotion to His City and Country and Extraordinarily
Self-Sacrificing and Patriotic Action Taken While Giving His Life
to Bring Freedom and Democracy to the Iraqi People.
James McNaughton is the first New York City police officer
to lose his life while serving his country as an Army Reserves
Staff Sergeant in the conflict in Iraq. Without any hesitation,
he put his life on the line for his city and for his country.
He came from a family steeped in NYPD tradition: His father, William
McNaughton, is recently retired from the Transit Bureau; his stepmother,
Michelle, is assigned to Transit Bureau headquarters, and the
woman he was engaged to marry, Lilliana Paredes, is assigned to
the Ninth Pct. They are proud of James McNaughton. So are the
whole city, the nation, and the world, for that matter.
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