When two officers from the 103rd Precinct responded to a woman screaming from the second floor of her home during a robbery on Feb. 10, their heroism took control as they went above and beyond the call of duty.
The officers, Craig Lalla and Gobin Raghunath, ran to the back of the building where they noticed the door had been kicked in. As they entered the home, the suspect ran at the officers full speed with a crowbar, smashing one in the head. In the struggle with the crowbar-wielding suspect, the officers fired two shots that hit him in the arm and leg.
They were able to apprehend the criminal following the shooting but decided not to get the medical attention they needed until they checked the house for other perps and made sure the woman was in safe hands.
“I saw the terror in that poor woman’s eyes,” said Commanding Officer of Queens South David Barrere. “And you guys saved her.”
For their work and the work of other officers around Queens South, the Jamaica Rotary Club used their monthly meeting to show their appreciation for what the men and women in blue do to keep their communities safe.
Along with the two officers honored in the 103rd Precinct, the Rotary Club gave awards to cops from the 102nd, 106th and 113th precincts.
In the 102nd Precinct, three officers were honored for catching a man who had stolen a pick-up truck with a snow plow in the wagon at the end of January. The man, who had 17 prior arrests, took the vehicle to the affluent neighborhood of Malba.
Officers spotted the man taking the snow plow out of the truck and using it to clear snow from homes in the neighborhood, in what police said was an attempt to make some extra cash after he stole the vehicle.
In the 106th Precinct, Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff honored two officers under his command for their work in apprehending a 35-year-old man while he was committing a robbery on the street in January.
The suspect, along with a friend, used a taser on an 18-year-old man and stole his belt, wallet and phone. But the officers, who responded quickly to the call, got to the scene in time and were able to arrest the suspect.
They later found out that the 25-year-old criminal had already been arrested 35 times in New York City and had even more arrests in Nassau County.
In the 113th Precinct, Officer Brett Devine was honored for helping to save an unconscious person’s life. The officer responded to a report of someone who had apparently overdosed on heroin back in December.
Because the NYPD now carries Narcan, a drug that helps to reverse effects of heroin overdoses, Devine was able to revive the person and allow enough time for paramedics to come and save their life.
”I am so proud of the men and women of my police force for the hard work and heroic work they do every day,” said Barrere. “Thank you. I know all the good you guys do in the community.”
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