Port Authority Cops Earn Medals For Going Above-And-Beyond

NEWARK, NJ — An elderly woman was revived after going into cardiac arrest on the floor near a baggage carousel at Newark Airport. A kidnapping victim was saved from her captor at the Holland Tunnel. Detectives arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a stairwell of a busy bus terminal. These are some of the actions that recently earned police with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey medals of honor, officials say.

The Port Authority held a medal award ceremony last month, paying tribute to several officers who went above-and-beyond the call of duty over the past few years.

According to Port Authority officials, here are some of the incidents that police responded to in the recent past.

CARDIAC ARREST AT AIRPORT

• Date of Incident: March 5, 2022
• Officers Involved: PO Nicholas Romano, PO Thomas Cooper, PO Sean Dunne
• Location: Newark Airport

“Officers were flagged down for a female patron lying on the floor near carousel #1. Officers realized the patron was in cardiac arrest, applied an AED and began CPR. Two shocks were administered to the 73-year-old patron before she regained consciousness and began breathing on her own.”

KIDNAPPING AT HOLLAND TUNNEL

• Date of Incident: October 12, 2021
• Officers Involved: PO Daniel Halleran, PO Samuel Marlin, PO Joseph Konopada
• Location: Holland Tunnel

“The PAPD CPD put out a department wide email and simulcast radio transmission regarding a kidnapping that occurred in Bethlehem, PA. The transmissions indicated that the suspect in question was the ex-boyfriend of the victim establishing a domestic violence relationship. PO Halleran and PO Marlin had positioned themselves on 12th Street & Jersey Avenue scanning for the vehicle which they spotted, stopped in traffic. The officers could see the victim in the passenger seat of the car in distress with visible injuries to her face. Before the vehicle could proceed forward, PO Halleran positioned his vehicle to prevent it from fleeing. Shortly thereafter PO Konopada arrived on scene and the officers were able to successfully extract the victim of the kidnapping as well as place the suspect under arrest.”

GUNPOINT CARJACKING

• Date of Incident: February 18, 2021
• Officers Involved: PO Lauren Dombi, PO Nicholas Sorace, PO Michael Khan-Viteri, PO Brian Blischke
• Location: Staten Island Bridges

“Officers were flagged down on the New York Side of the Geothals Bridge by the victim of a gunpoint carjacking that occurred on Richmond Rd. in Staten Island. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle which led to a pursuit onto US 1 & 9 into Newark, NJ. The subject went against traffic on Route 22 and eventually crashed into a concrete divider. The [suspect] was then detained at gunpoint and placed under arrest.”

STOLEN POLICE CAR

• Date of Incident: October 25, 2020
• Officers Involved: PO Steven Sabogal, PO Jessica McKay
• Location: Staten Island Bridges

“SIB Desk reported a stolen Bayonne Police Cruiser. Officers observed the vehicle on the Goethals Bridge. The officers attempted to stop the vehicle which resulted in an authorized pursuit on the Staten Island Expressway and into Brooklyn along with NYPD units. The suspect then crashed his vehicle in Brooklyn and attempted to flee on foot but was quickly apprehended.”

SEX ASSAULT AT BUS TERMINAL

• Date of Incident: October 4, 2020
• Officer Involved: Detective Michele Fusco
• Location: Port Authority Bus Terminal

“A female patron was sexually assaulted by an unidentified male in a Port Authority Bus Terminal stairwell. Detectives reviewed video surveillance and were able to positively identify the suspect. On October 8, 2020, the suspect was arrested in Jersey City for a prior domestic violence incident and during an interview confessed to the incident that occurred in the Bus Terminal.”

SUICIDE RESCUE

• Date of Incident: July 5, 2019
• Officers Involved: Lt. Scott Erickson, Sgt. Brian Belfiore, Sgt. Kevin Rotolo, Sgt. Ronald Sandgran, Det. Martin Van Strien, PO Mark Legiec, PO Brian Ross, PO Joseph Kauper
• Location: SOD-ESU

“PAPD ESU was called to assist with a suicidal male who climbed over a wall and was standing on a cliff 300 feet from the roadway. ESU officers set in place a rope rescue system as well as an airbag below the subject just in case he jumped. The subject was successfully pulled to safety without incident.”

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