10th Anniversary Special

By Mitchell Krugel, Karen Jenkins and Rosemary An
Our commemorative issue is all about 10 for you: A retrospective of how the PBA and its members have made 10 years of NJ Cops as the union’s official publication so memorable.
And so with this 10th anniversary, we celebrate “A Perfect 10” of getting the message out. Of showcasing the unmeasurable efforts to protect and serve members put forth every hour. Of providing information that can support and improve working conditions. Of providing information that can help New Jersey cops on and off the job.
To commemorate this anniversary, the forthcoming pages present “Perfect 10” lists of some of the stories that have made NJ Cops Magazine a privilege to present and have created a reliable vehicle for members to get the media attention they so richly deserve and don’t otherwise get from the mainstream news folks.
The Perfect 10 lists could never be all-inclusive or a 10 best because the best stories are the ones that mean the most to members. And hopefully, every PBA member has more than a few favorites. The ones presented in the following pages are meant to be a cross-section of those that showcase your work, your efforts, your passion. And that you can always count on these stories to be published here.
The Covers
The 10-year run has produced 120 covers. How do you select the perfect 10 when so many showcase the greatest hits of the PBA, its members and the law enforcement profession?
So here are two sets of 10.
From riding along with Trenton members to members going all-out in fundraising – and showing their athletic prowess – to dramatic moments to moments of remembrance, the first 10 and the second 10 capture present the courage, honor, integrity and the ability to change lives of the union and its members. Scenes from National Police Week and Special Olympics events also highlight the amazing work of photographer extraordinaire Ed Carattini Jr., your Verona Local 72 State Delegate.
With a “Thin Pink Line” honoring members who are breast cancer survivors and tributes to the success of the PBA’s political action, this tour includes the Police Unity Tour, great events like PBA Day in Trenton and the annual PBA Toy Drive and, of course, the work of members on the front lines. Of all the covers, which one is the best? Well, ask 120 PBA members and you might get 120 answers.
That’s what has made it such a wonderful 10 years.
First 10
Second 10
The Cover Stories
Of the 120 cover stories during the past 10 years, we have covered great PBA events, saluted officers lost in the line of duty, honored members for outstanding service, spotlighted some of the important trends in law enforcement and labor and tried to offer informative, timely and engaging reads.
Picking 10 that represent the mission of NJ Cops Magazine to be the voice of New Jersey Law Enforcement and a reliable vehicle for the PBA to get is message to members might have been easier using a dart board. In the end, this set of 10 is a list that bullseyes stories that have made a difference for members and readers.
The Big Stories
Through the decade, the tenacity and resilience of PBA members have led them to advocate for legislation, honor fallen brothers and sisters, strengthen union representation and even to perform the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of providing security to the Pope.
Tour through a gut-wrenching visit to the NJ Police Officers Memorial, an inspired rally for Sandy Hook victims, the painstaking journey to Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) independence and more in some of the most rousing stories from the past 10 years.
Of the dozens of stories that the NJ Cops Magazine team considered the best of the rest, here are some that truly changed the landscape of the union, its members and the policing they do.
The Locals Stories
They call it a signature event. An annual turkey giveaway in Passaic. The Pension Pig Roast the Monmouth County Conference hosts in honor of a certain PBA president.
PBA Locals crush it when it comes to signature events — fundraisers, events to honor fallen members and outreach that profoundly impacts the community. Members are constantly looking for ways to do more than protect the streets, especially to help other individuals and families.
Here are 10 perfect examples of how Locals fulfill their passion to serve as much as protect.
The Valor Awards Stories
A career highlight for any PBA member is earning a Valor Award.
At its annual Valor Awards, the NJSPBA hands out nearly 30 awards that recognize upwards of 100 members for their bravery, service, professionalism and overall excellence. So do the math on how many awards and members that has included during the past 10 years.
Some of these stories are almost unbelievable. Members stopping mass shootings, school shootings and violent criminals armed with unimaginable intent and weapons. Defusing hostage situations. Rescuing kids, disabled people, seniors and the like from fires, oceans and other life-threatening situations. Putting their own lives at risk every day for the greater good.
Looking for a definition of valor? Look right here at 10 examples from the hundreds chronicled the past 10 years that confirm valor is a way of doing the job for PBA members.
The Valor Awards is always a memorable photo op for family members of award winners.
A child’s best friend: On July 3, 2014, New Brunswick Local 23 members Michael Phommathep, James Hoover, Kevin Conway and Raymond Hansen raced to rescue a 4-year-old girl being attacked by pit bulls. After removing the threat, Hoover used his uniform shirt to wrap around the child’s head to stop the bleeding. The swift action saved her life.
Donor honor: The 2015 Valor Awards presented one of the most heartwarming stories ever when Vineland Local 266 member Domenic Ferrari received a Lifesaving Award for donating a kidney to Local brother Fred Demary. Both members attended and hugged each other tightly, celebrating Demary returning to work eight months after the kidney replacement.
Saving a brother: In October 2015, Hackensack Local 9 member Mohammad Sheikh accompanied two other detectives from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office to perform a search for a man wanted for homicide. While sweeping a dark room, a suspect grabbed one of the officers and held a knife to his head. Sheikh fired a round that caused the suspect to release the detective.
A real wife-saver: In July 2015, longtime West New York Local 361 State Delegate was on a Sunday afternoon drive with his with and two daughters when, with no warning, he went into cardiac arrest. Knowing that death could have come in minutes, his wife, West New York Lieutenant Monica Ramos, managed to shift the car into park, called for an ambulance and began CPR. Moments later, Officer Jorge Salgado arrived and took over compressions and three jolts with a defibrillator revived Ramos.
The legacy of a family hero: On June 6, 2016, James Clarke and his wife were sitting in the sand in front of their beach house when they realized that boys swimming in the ocean were struggling to return to the shoreline. One of the boys stuck in the powerful riptide was their son. James ran to the beach and pulled each of the boys to safety before collapsing to the sand. He was lost on that day, and to honor him Long Beach Township Local 273 presented his family with a Civilian Gold Medal of Valor.
When off-duty calls: Bellmawr Local 375 member Christopher Cummings brought his kids to Atlantic City on the Thursday before Labor Day in 2016. They were shopping at the Tanger outlets – the area known as “The Walk” – when Cummings walked into a store and encountered a man with a gun in his hand who had shot another man and then turned the gun on himself. After securing his family, Cummings immediately advanced on the man and wrestled the firearm from his possession.
Saved by the cell: On April 7, 2017, Mercer County Corrections Local 167 member Jippey Creighton found an inmate with deep lateral cuts in both wrists. When Officer Dominique Connors arrived at the cell, she found Creighton rushing to stop the victim’s bleeding by using bed linens as a makeshift tourniquet. She quickly took hold of the victim’s other wrist and their actions saved his life.
Girl Power: The 2018 Valor Awards celebrated the meritorious service of two female officers who didn’t back down. Neptune Local 74 member Dominique Russo chased down a suspect who had been pointing a gun at a group of people. Russo pursued the man who was a foot taller than her into the backyard of a residence and ran him down. Plainfield Local 19 member Omnya Alahwol was dispatched to the scene of a man being assaulted with a hammer and fearlessly sprang out of her patrol car to give chase. Alahwol spotted a shotgun in the attacker’s waistband, and despite him towering over her, drew her weapon and got him to drop his gun and back down.
An “All Night” celebration: Eleven Trenton Local 11 members were honored with a Gold Medal of Valor and a meritorious service award for their historic response to the 12th Annual Art All Night Festival mass shooting in June 2018. Officers Matthew Bledsoe and Robert Furman and Detectives Eliezer Ramos and Michael Cipriano led the response that resulted in one of the largest mass shootings in the history of the state of New Jersey left not having to suffer with any innocent civilians being killed.
School safety: Columbine. Sandy Hook. Marjory Stoneman Douglas. No chance Tamaques School in Westfield was going to make that list on June 13, 2019 with this team of five officers and two detectives from Westfield Local 90 deploying a well-detailed active shooter response disarmed a man who was parked near the school armed with a handgun. Officer Jeff Johnson, Westfield’s active shooter instructor, led the response that included Officers Joseph Habeiche. Elizabeth Savnik and Tiffany Kenny and Detectives Nicholas Bruno and Jason Merritt.
The NJSPBA Valor Awards Committee also goes above and beyond to create an extraordinary event.
The Conventions Stories
From presentations about going undercover in a notorious biker gang, to the tale of coming back from fourth-degree burns, to stopping domestic terror threats and mass shootings, the NSJPBA Mini Conventions and Main Conventions never fail to bring jaw-dropping tales of law enforcement fervor to the forefront.
With hundreds of riveting speakers from the past decade of conventions who also address issues important to furthering union efforts, here are a perfect 10 of convention presentations that augment the virtue of all NJSPBA conventions.
The Police Week Stories
Seeing the hallowed walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, hearing names called at the Candlelight Vigil and honoring the nation’s Top Cops as chosen by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) generate some of the most important stories in all of law enforcement.
Here are 10 that truly capture what Police Week means and why every PBA member should attend.
The Police Unity Tour Stories
What started with 18 riders on a four-day fundraising bicycle ride in 1997 from Florham Park to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. has grown into nearly 2,600 members nationwide making the annual trip. Every mile tells a unique story of a fallen officer and a survivor honoring his or her legacy.
Remember these perfect 10 awe-inspiring stories of riding for those who died.
The Job Well Done Stories
From rescuing residents trapped in fires to stopping a terrorist to preventing a suicide, PBA members seem to go above and beyond the call of duty every day. From so many “Jobs Well Done,” here are examples of how nobody does it better than PBA members.
A leg up: Atlantic City Local 24 member Mike Braxton, who was injured in an off-duty motorcycle accident that resulted in the lower left portion of his leg being amputated in 2013, returned to work in June 2014 to a standing ovation from other members and pledged to work on inspiring other amputees.
For Matlosz: Spotswood Local 225’s Michael Zarro, Sayreville Local 98’s Douglas Sprague and Middlesex County Sheriff’s Local 165’s Luis Fajardo hiked Mount Washington in June 2012 to plant a banner honoring Christopher Matlosz, the Lakewood Local 71 member who was lost in the line of duty in 2011.
Call for help: After mistakenly receiving an email from across international waters in April 2016, Verona Chief Mitchell Stern prevented a young girl in Italy from committing suicide by contacting the Italian embassy in New York, then Interpol, to get help for the girl in a matter of 20 minutes.
Safe travels: Perth Amboy Local 13 member Lindsey DeJesus, who received a call about a disabled mother and her son stranded without a car or money, paid out of pocket for a 30-minute Uber ride to get them safely home to Monmouth County in November 2019.
Burning up: Ewing Township Local 111 members Mike Pellegrino, Jim Caldwell and Fred Dow pulled an 81-year-old woman with a broken leg and her epileptic son out of a burning car in February 2012.
Autism awareness: In 2019, a missing persons call came from 12-year-old Ryan Paul, who has autism spectrum disorder. He could not locate his beloved teddy bear. Woodbridge Local 38 member Khari Manzini responded and used his autism awareness training to help Ryan through the ordeal.
Stop the terror: In November 2011, Essex County Corrections Local 382 member Eric Schwartz stopped a suspicious woman outside the department’s parking lot who turned out to be wanted by the FBI for questioning in different terrorist acts.
Officer for a day: Verona Local 72 members surprised 4-year-old Micco LaRosa, who has a rare genetic disease and loves police, along with his older brother Leo, by swearing them in as deputies for a day in February 2019.
Break your fall: Three Mahwah Local 143 members caught 9-year-old Sofiya Doroshenko jumping about 25 feet from a burning third-floor apartment balcony in February 2016 and praised her as the real hero for being brave enough to jump.
Oh, baby: After responding to a call about a woman in labor in a parked vehicle, Cranford Local 52 members Matthew Nazzaro, Frank Williams, Robert Jordan and Michael Dubitsky successfully delivered Adam Ramos in August 2012.
The Special Olympics Stories
With members like George Duffy plunging at the Polar Bear Plunge since the very beginning; like Todd Smith participating in the Plane Pull for his son, an SONJ athlete; like the Ocean County Pigskins team winning the Snow Bowl with none other than renowned Olympian Eric Kish, members from every Local raise hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for Special Olympics.
Members are dedicated to SONJ’s mission of bringing pride into the lives of children and adults with disabilities through athletic competition. PBA members have proven that if there is anything that they will get together for it is Special Olympics, and here is a perfect 10 list of stories that illustrate their commitment to the cause: