Police Chief Michael Bruno recognized nine individuals April 8 for their acts of kindness, dedication and initiative during 2007.

Police Department

Detective Adam Kopesky
In October 2007, Detective Kopesky received information from a confidential informant about a residential burglary that was scheduled to take place in a neighboring municipality. Kopesky informed that police department and together, they set up surveillance inside of the house on the night the crime was scheduled to occur. They arrested the burglar as he entered the house to commit the crime. Because of this arrest, a number of burglaries and thefts were avoided in the area.

Exceptional Service

Police Officer Ralph Lawrance
Officer Lawrance was recognized for his actions while off duty. In April 2007, while on his way to work, Lawrance observed a van driving at a high speed being pursued by two police cars. Lawrance pulled his personal car off to the side of the road for the officers to pass and as the van driver tried to exit the roadway, he crashed. Officer Lawrence assisted the officers in subduing the driver who was resisting arrest. The driver had assaulted his girlfriend and took her baby, who was now in the van when the police pursuit began. This man’s criminal history included an aggravated manslaughter arrest.

Lifesaving

Sgt. Paul Liautaud, Police Officer Michael Greco and Police Officer Robert Terranova
These officers responded to a medical call last year and upon arrival at the house, found a 50-year-old woman lying unconscious in her foyer. She was unresponsive, not breathing and had no pulse. They immediately began a lengthy rescue effort including CPR and by the time the woman arrived at the hospital, she was breathing on her own again.

Narcotics Investigations

Police Officer Alex Cardillo
Officer Cardillo was awarded for his efforts to take drugs and drug dealers off of the street. In 2007, he was directly responsible for obtaining and cultivating information that led to multiple drug-related arrests. Though assigned to patrol, the information he obtained resulted in the execution of multiple search warrants and a number of controlled drug purchases. He arrested 15 people on drug charges during the year.

Civilian Awards

Larry Dennard
Restaurant manager Dennard was working when a customer began to have a violent seizure. Dennard reacted very quickly by calling 9-1-1. He also took several precautions to protect the individual from other injuries, which can occur someone is having a violent seizure. This award was proposed by the officers who responded because they were impressed by how quickly he acted and how calm he remained during a medical emergency.

Amy Rodriguez
While at home one night, Rodriguez looked outside her window and saw smoke coming from her neighbor’s home. She told her father to call the police. When officers responded, they found a house fire in her neighbor’s home. One of the officers kicked in the front door and located the entire family, who was unaware that there was a fire. It was spreading rapidly and all of the family members were evacuated to safety. If Rodriguez had not seen the problem and quickly reported it, the family could have been overcome by the smoke and possibly lost their lives.

Lifesaving

John Evers
In June 2007, Evers was working as a school bus driver and was driving children home after a day of camp. The bus contained seven children between the ages of three and five and two teenagers. Evers smelled smoke and brought the bus to a stop in the middle of the road in order to evacuate the bus and bring the children to the side of the road. Immediately after evacuating the bus, it burst into flames. The burning of plastic and vinyl produced a thick cloud of toxic smoke and could have overcome the bus and everyone on board had it not been for Evers and his quick decision making.

E-mail: Andrews@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6723