Officers recognized for outstanding police work
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

North Brunswick police Capt. Michael Misurell reads various lifesaving awards and letters of commendation during the Police Week ceremony, held on May 17 to honor fallen heroes and current officers.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The police department honored the lives of their fallen heroes during their annual Police Week ceremony, held on May 17.

During the ceremony, several civilian and departmental awards were presented to honor those who have put their lives on the line to serve others.

On June 22, 2006, Patrolman Wayne DeGaetano responded to a possible drowning on Cranbury Cross Road. He found an unconscious 15-month-old child with no pulse and immediately began CPR. He was joined by Patrolman Alex Obando and Sgt. Anthony Falcone, who worked as a team for 10 minutes until advanced lifesaving support arrived, and a pulse was restored to the child. They received a Life Saving Award.

On Aug. 31 of last year, Patrolman Frank Petrillo responded to a report of an armed, 15-year-old suicidal female who had climbed out of her upper-floor window on Goodwin Drive and was threatening to jump. Petrillo went out onto the roof after her and managed to calm her down, performing first aid to her self-inflicted wounds and convincing her to go back inside the house. He was presented with a Life Saving Award.

After a moment of silence for the fallen members of the North Brunswick Police Department, taps was played to honor their memory.

Raymond Bearden and David Bright were honored with a Civilian Commendation for their actions during an altercation at Linwood Middle School on Nov. 3. A male student had brandished a knife in an attempt to injure several female students. Bearden confronted the youth head on, with the student swinging the knife at him several times. Bright maneuvered himself behind the student and grabbed his arms, disarming the student and ending the threat.

On Jan. 5, Sgt. William Bonura and Patrolmen Scott Henry and Frank Petrillo responded to Myrtle Road on the report of an attempted suicide. The officers arrived to find a male lying across the front seat of his vehicle with the windows up, engine on and a hose running from the tailpipe to the interior of the vehicle. Henry immediately removed the hose from the tailpipe and the officers were able to coax the man out of his truck without any significant injury. They received Letters of Commendation for their actions.

Sgt. William Bonura and Patrolmen Mark Ventola, Paul Braconi, John Garback, Ronald Girard, Scott Henry and Gregory Gyumolcs were presented with a Unit Citation Award for their actions on Jan. 27 in which an armed robbery had occurred at the Gulf station on Georges Road. Two arrests were made without injuries to any party involved.

Lt. Keith Buckley, Sgt. Anthony Falcone and Patrolmen Jon Kelly, Wayne DeGaetano, Jason Vallese, Myron Cox, Cullen Kushnir, Joseph Grasso, Erik Jacobsen and Detective Michael Campbell were presented with a Unit Citation Award for their response to an armed robbery and attempted murder at Oaktree Drive on March 22. A taxicab driver had been robbed and shot in the neck; the officers applied lifesaving first-aid measures and conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of two juveniles.

Marie Santoro, a public safety telecommunicator, received a Letter of Commendation for instructing a caller through CPR after an unresponsive, 24-year-old female had stopped breathing at Poe Road on April 26.

In addition, Officers Colin Cumiskey, Joseph Grasso and Michael Sauvigne were honored for their participation in the 2007 Police Unity Tour, a four-day fundraising bicycle ride from Florham Park to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

"Members of the Police Department, they see the whole fabric of life. They see the good and the bad, they see the young and the old. … They put their lives at risk so we can have a good life and we need to appreciate them more than we do," the Rev. John Polyak of Our Lady of Peace Church said during a prayer.

"We are here today to honor the memories of those officers and thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice," said Officer John Haas, president of the North Brunswick PBA Local 160.

"Somebody killed a policeman today, and a part of America died.

A piece of our country he swore to protect, will be buried with him at his side.

The suspect that shot him will stand up in court, with counsel demanding his rights.

While a young widowed mother must work for her kids, and spend many long, lonely nights.

The beat that he walked was a battle field too, just as if he'd gone off to war.

Though the flag of our nation won't fly at half mast, to his name they will add a gold star.

Yes, somebody killed a policeman today, in your town or mine.

While we slept in comfort behind our locked doors, a cop put his life on the line.

Now his ghost walks a beat on a dark city street, and he stands at each new rookie's side.

He answered the call, of himself gave his all, and a part of America died."

- From "A Part of America Died," the Policeman's Poem