Newark Police, Fire Officials Honored at Valor Awards

They saved an elderly woman and a child from dying in a fire, they grappled hand-to-hand with armed gunmen, and they saved their partners from certain death.

Thirty-four public safety officers and firefighters were honored by the Two Hundred Club of Essex County for going above and beyond the call of duty. The heroes were awarded the Valor Awards last week at a ceremony at Mayfair Farms in West Orange.

Newark Police Officer Latasha Merritt said she only remembers screaming and broken glass from the fateful day she fatally shot a gunman who was charging, weapon drawn, at Merritt and her partner Officer David Fortenberry just outside West Side Park on June 22, 2010.

Merritt and Fortenberry were chasing a suspect in an armed robbery and closed in on him on 16th Avenue near S. 17th Street. Without any means of escape, the suspect ran full force toward the cruiser, aiming his weapon at the two officers.

"If my window was down, I could've reached out and grabbed him, that's how close he was," said Merritt, a 10-year veteran of the police department.

Merritt, sitting in the passenger seat, screamed her partner's name as a warning, then fired a single shot from within the vehicle, shattering the passenger-side window and striking the gunman in the abdomen. The armed man, who later died from his injuries at University Hospital, was stopped just three feet from Merritt and Fortenberry.

Merritt, one of two women honored in the ceremony, said being recognized with a Valor Award was unexpected, especially in a male-dominated field. She thanked Newark Capt. Caroline Clark for her endless support, calling Clark her "hero."

"Hopefully I'll be able to encourage other young women within the community to join the police department," Merritt said. “I didn't expect it. It's a blessing and a privilege basically to be alive."

Sgt. Thomas Ruane and Lt. Dennis Sanders, both of the Newark Police Department (NPD), and Newark firefighters Wayne Daniels, Jr., Carlos Huertas, Carmen Maya, Jr., and Thomas Melillo also received Valor Awards.

Fortenberry, Merritt, Ruane and Sanders also received Medal of Honors, the highest distinction, at the 2011 Annual Newark Police Department Awards Ceremony at Newark City Hall. Ruane also received a medal for excellent police duty, while Fortenberry and Merritt were chosen as Director's Award recipients.

In December, Ruane engaged in a violent hand-to-hand combat with a man armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at the Seth Boyden Housing Complex. Unable to feel the suspect's weapon in his waistband and fearing his life during the battle, the sergeant then fired one shot at the man, who later died.

Also in December, an off-duty Sanders found himself in a face-off with an armed man while another man approached from behind at gunpoint on Poe Avenue. The lieutenant stealthily unholstered his weapon once he reached the safety of his car and shot twice, causing the two men to flee in a waiting Cadillac, driven by a third person. A handgun was later recovered from the area.

Four Newark firefighters were recognized for rescuing residents from burning buildings. Melillo, Maya and Daniels battled intense heat and smoke in March 2010 to save an unconscious elderly woman trapped on the upper floor of a Kerr Avenue residence in the Weequahic section, while Huertas rescued an 8-year-old boy from a burning DeGraw Avenue home in April 2010 after hearing the child crying.

Arthur Guida, 200 Club President, said 83 lives have been lost in Essex County since the club's inception, now in its 45th year. Guida said that in 2010, three New Jersey police officer and two firefighters were killed in the line of duty. He said the club is dedicated to providing relief to the families of officials killed in the line of duty.

"Securing the public demands enormous sacrifice," said  U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, who was the event’s keynote speaker. He said it is a "very challenging time for law enforcement" given recent layoffs and the spike in fatalities.

""I am astonished by your bravery and commitment to saving the lives of other people," he said.

- with reporting by Karen Yi