Morris County Detective Honored for Keeping Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Alive

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Morris County Detective Michael Puskas received the Life Saving Award from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for saving a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing while Puskas was employed by the federal government.

Puskas received the award Sept. 29 at the ATF Newark Field Office.

Before Puskas joined the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, he worked as a Special Agent with the ATF. Puskas was a Tactical Medic in the Special Operations Division an helped locate suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013.

After the bombings occurred, law enforcement agents conducted an extensive manhunt for one of the two suspects, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, in Watertown, Mass.

After several days, the search ended when Tsarnaev was found injured, hiding inside a boat on a trailer in Watertown.

Tsarnaev was removed from the boat by officers, and Puskas and his partner then administered life-saving first aid. They didn't know whether or not Tsarnaev was armed with an explosive device.

“Detective Puskas disregarded his own safety to render life-saving aid," Morris County Prosecutor Knapp said. "His actions allowed authorities to discover the motives behind this despicable terrorist act and to successfully prosecute Tsarnaev. I am proud to serve with Mike Puskas.”

Tsarnaev was transported to the hospital and survived. His survival enabled investigators to obtain information regarding details leading up to the Boston bombings.

Photo courtesy of Public Information Officer Paul Merkler