Howell Police Sergeant Honored For Life-Saving Act In Puerto Rico

HOWELL, NJ — A Howell Township police officer was one of four law enforcement officers honored this week for saving a woman from a knife-wielding man in Puerto Rico last year.

The New Jersey State Police said Howell Sgt. John Lopez, along with Middletown Patrolman Ekne Montalvo and State Troopers Cassandra Pugh and Sgt. Roberto Guerrero, all were awarded the Monmouth County 200 Club Award.

State Police said the incident happened Nov. 10, 2017, while the four were on assignment in Puerto Rico as part of Operation P.R.I.D.E., which was a coordinated effort by New Jersey law enforcement to assist Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Pugh and Montalvo were assigned to a traffic post to assist the Puerto Rico Police Department. As they were directing traffic, a woman drove up to Pugh and exclaimed, “He has a knife!”

Pugh looked into the car and saw a man in the passenger seat with a large kitchen knife in his hands, pointing it at his own chest. Pugh began to speak with the man, asking him to put down the knife, while alerting Montalvo, who joined her and tried to reason with the man.

As the two spoke to the man, Lopez and Guerrero arrived to assist. When man saw Lopez, he moved the knife away from himself and toward his wife’s throat. Montalvo, Lopez and Guerrero pulled the man out of the car, where they were able to disarm and arrest him.

"The quick and decisive actions of Troopers Pugh, Sgt. Guerrero, Patrolman Montalvo, and Sgt. Lopez resolved a volatile situation without injury, and we commend their outstanding efforts!" the New Jersey State Police said in a post about the award on Facebook.

Photos via New Jersey State Police