The 109th Precinct Council honored the June and July Cops of the Month at its community council meeting on Wednesday, Sept 10.
Community members packed Bowne Street Community Church to hear public safety updates from Inspector Kevin Coleman and have their sanitation-related questions answered by a DSNY representative.
The 109th Precinct is based in Flushing and also covers Queensboro Hill, College Point, Malba, Whitestone, Beechhurst and Bay Terrace
Officers Samanatha Wittenberg and Juno Singh were honored during the meeting for their police work in June. The duo pulled over a car where they discovered forged mailbox keys, a loaded firearm and drugs.
Rookie Officer Jesutofunmi Aregbesola, who is assigned to the Field Training Unit, was praised for recognizing and calling in a suspect wanted for a shooting nearby while he was at the Latimer Houses.
Officers Kevin Beyerback and John Shaprio were honored for their police work in July. They responded to a 911 call and arrested a man wanted for home robberies who was disguised as an Amazon delivery worker.
Coleman also alerted the community about important crime-related quality-of-life issues. He said there has been an uptick in thieves who are increasingly dressing as delivery or construction workers to appear conspicuous so they can rob homes. He added to be vigilant about double-parked cars on quiet residential streets, as they could be another tip-off of suspicious activity.
Additionally, the 109th Precinct was awarded the 2024 Unit Citation Award for its work in reducing crime this past June. During and immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic, the 109th Precinct was experiencing one of the sharpest increases in crime of any precinct across the five boroughs.
Crime was increasingly on the rise for the precinct since 2021, as it rose 20%. By 2022, it rose another 60%, and by 2023, crime in the 109th Precinct was up by 65%. At that point, Inspector Coleman assumed command of the precinct. Under his leadership, in 2024, crime in the 109th Precinct dropped 6%. So far in 2025, crime is down another 15 %.
