By Ivan Pereira
Detective Charles LoPresti’s heroics during a life-saving search may have made him a star in Queens, but his quick-thinking actions have earned him the respect of a law enforcement leader from the other side of the country.
The 103rd Precinct detective was honored Tuesday by Borough President Helen Marshall for answering the emergency call of a desperate Hawaiian mother who was trying to stop her suicidal daughter from taking her life. Aside from giving LoPresti an official proclamation for the July 17 rescue, the borough president surprised the detective with additional accolades.
Louis M. Kealoha, the chief of police for the Honolulu Police Department, personally wrote a letter to the detective to thank him for saving flight attendant Averie Kenery and sent a medallion from his office.
LoPresti, who was at the Queens Borough Board meeting with his fellow detectives and wife Lisa, was surprised about receiving the extra commendation from Hawaii’s top brass.
“I’m really honored,” he said. “We did what we normally do every day.”
LoPresti was in his office at the precinct, at 168-02 P.O. Edward Byrne Ave., when he received a call from Beth Walz, who said she just got off the phone with Kenery, who said she was taking pills to kill herself. The 32-year-old worked as a flight attendant and would occasionally stay at crash pads near John F. Kennedy International Airport in-between flights.
Walz gave the detective a vague description of where her daughter was staying, but LoPresti reassured her that he would save Kenery. LoPresti and three other detectives eventually tracked her to a Hillside Avenue house where several flight attendants were staying, but an initial search yielded no sign of the suicidal Kenery.
Fortunately, Walz still had an open line to her daughter’s cell phone and could hear the detectives’ voices as they searched the premises, so she called LoPresti again and told them that they were on the right track.
He then called Kenery’s phone and followed the sound of the ring tone to her room, where she was lying unconscious. The flight attendant was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was revived and went on to make a full recovery.
Marshall said LoPresti’s team showed true courage by not only giving up hope when their trail ran cold but also for keeping the victim’s family calm during the incident.
“It’s good to know that we have protection like this,” she said.
LoPresti’s hero tour is not over yet.
On Wednesday, the 22-year veteran of the force was scheduled to meet with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at Police Headquarters in Manhattan to receive another accommodation.
The father of three shrugged off all the attention he has been receiving in the media because he joined New York’s Finest to help people in need.
“I’m still humbled by it all, but now it’s back to work,” he said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
