Long Branch Police Officer Honored For Saving Woman's Life

LONG BRANCH, NJ — A longtime Long Branch police officer was honored this week for saving a woman's life; police say the woman's husband was trying to stab her to death in 2019 and he would have been successful if Corporal Robert Korn had not intervened.

On Monday, Korn was honored by the 200 Club of Monmouth County. The incident happened Feb. 5, 2019 when the woman was at work; she worked as a nurse at a group home in Long Branch.

At 9:39 that morning, Long Branch police received a 911 call of a stabbing at the home; Korn was the first officer to arrive on scene. He observed the suspect, a Brick man, 43, swinging and grabbing at his 34-year-old wife, who was lying on the ground, said the Monmouth County prosecutor's office.

Smith was armed with two knives, and had stabbed the woman multiple times in the chest and head, said the prosecutor.

Korn was able to pull the man off her, disarm him of the two knives and placed him in handcuffs.

The woman was taken to the hospital, where she ultimately survived the attack. Her husband was charged with first-degree murder; he is awaiting trial.

Korn was given the 200 Club's highest honor, the Valor Award. He was one of seven Monmouth County members of law enforcement given the award this year.

“They went above and beyond the call of duty, risking their lives to save another … They have earned and deserve our sincere respect, appreciation and admiration,” said Robert Honecker, president of The 200 Club of Monmouth County

The seven total police officers who received Valor Awards are from three different police departments in Monmouth County:

Long Branch Police Department: Corporal Robert Korn.

Manalapan Police Department: Patrol Officer Kyle Williams. Williams was assigned to a mutual aid detail in Asbury Park to assist with large crowds on July 4, 2019. He heard a gunshot and came across a man holding a gun in a crowd of people. He chased the fleeing man on foot, managed to get him down on the ground, handcuff him, and took possession of the gun. After encountering, disarming, and detaining the armed man, Patrol Officer Williams then tended to a gunshot victim applying a tourniquet in a lifesaving effort.

Marlboro Police Department: Lieutenant John Loyer, Patrol Officer Donna Gonzalez, Patrol Officer Adam Mattei, Patrol Officer Colin Murray, and Patrol Officer Robert Kelly. Working together on June 16, 2020, this group of officers used a patrol car to separate two vehicles involved in a serious crash where one of the cars was on fire. They successfully removed an unconscious occupant from the burning car before the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames. The incident was captured by body cameras and was covered by the media.

The 200 Club of Monmouth County’s main mission is to provide financial assistance to families of first responders who die or are seriously injured in the line of duty. To date, The 200 Club has given out more than $2.2 million in college scholarships.

The 200 Club of Monmouth County was founded by Monmouth County philanthropists in the 1970s, when each pledged an annual donation of $200.