By —Gary Buiso
For longstanding service to the NYPD, as well as a year filled with good arrests, Police Officer Richard Hare took home Cop of the Year honors at the 84th Precinct Community Council this week. Colleagues described Hare as a cop with a good heart and—moreover—great instincts. This year, Hare was credited with making 38 arrests, 28 of which were felonies, according to Leslie Lewis, the president of the precinct council. For his efforts, Hare took home certificates and plaques from a host of elected officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Assemblymember Joan Millman. Not once, but twice, Hare was on the scene at the Brooklyn Bridge, helping to rescue would-be jumpers, Lewis noted. He also recently volunteered his time with the relief effort in New Orleans. For his “selfless feats of life-saving,” Markowitz declared Jan. 17, Richard Hare Day, Lewis reported. “He’s an example of what the men and women of the NYPD do day in and day out,” said Assistant Chief Joseph Cunneen, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North. He said cops like Hare help make the 84th Precinct such a “smooth command.” “He makes sure the city’s safe…and no one jumps off the bridge.”
