Fairfield Police Officer Honored For Distinguished Service

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield Police Officer Michael Mazzocchi was recently presented with the Distinguished Service Award for disarming a suicidal woman at Lake Mohegan in 2016. Police responded to the Lake Mohegan Open Space on Sept. 28, 2016 to search for a reported suicidal woman.

Mazzocchi found the woman deep in the wooded area standing at the edge of a cliff holding a jagged piece of glass.

“Officer Mazzocchi approached the woman from behind, pulled her from the edge of the cliff and disarmed her,” police wrote in a post on Facebook. “The woman was taken into custody unharmed and provided with medical care. Officer Mazzocchi‘s actions were decisive and placed him in danger of being seriously injured while also preventing the woman from harming herself.

“Officer Mazzocchi committed an act of bravery, intelligently performed at imminent personal risk to himself. He has brought great credit upon himself, our profession, and the Fairfield Police Department, and he is most deserving of the distinguished service medal.”

Lt. James Perez was also honored at the Fairfield Police Commission’s meeting earlier this month with the Lifesaving Award.