Law-Enforcement Award
DA Honors 33 Who Keep Brooklyn Safe

By REUVEN BLAU

Police Officers and supervisors who helped deliver a baby, disarm a dangerous assailant, and set up a sting to catch a suspected sex offender groping young girls on city buses were among the 33 honored at Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes's 17th annual law-enforcement appreciation award ceremony.

Brooklyn DA's Office photo GUARDING THE BOROUGH OF KINGS: Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes (center, in suit) May 18 honored 33 law-enforcement officers for helping keep the borough safe by arresting assailants with illegal guns and apprehending other suspects.

"They keep dangerous criminals off the streets, making life better for all of us," Mr. Hynes said in a statement after the May 18 event. "They go to great lengths to ensure we are safe, sometimes putting their own lives at risk."

Special Delivery

The awardees included Sgt. Bruno Valenti and Police Officers Brian Higgins and Leslie Grant, who helped deliver a baby girl on Jan. 3 after responding to a radio call of a woman going into labor, according to the DA's Office. At the scene, they found Blanca Enriquez, who told the officers that her water had broken. Sergeant Valenti used his duty jacket to cover the ground and assisted during the delivery.

Lieut. Clint McPherson and Police Officers Yancy Blowe, Michael Simmonds, Kevin Savary, and Anthony Maisto were honored for arresting a suspect involved in a shooting at the Rockaway Parkway L train station on Nov. 15, 2006. According to authorities, the suspect, Dwayne Holmes, shot three people, one of whom died at the scene.

Mr. Holmes and an accomplice, Kendal Bennet, tried to flee, but were caught by the responding officers, investigators said. Mr. Holmes has since been indicted on murder charges and is now facing the possibility of life in prison, the DA's Office said.

Police Officers Robert Clemenza, Peter Hassler, Jason Auerbach, and Mitchell Gross were awarded for apprehending two armed robbers posing as Con Edison workers.

Nabbed Sex Offender

Sgt. Eric Chappel and Police Officers Anzelmo Giovanniello and Matthew Koeth devised a plan to capture a sex offender who had been groping young girls on city buses. The officers spent a day riding specific routes in plainclothes before they caught the suspect in the act, investigators said.

Police Officer Peter McCarthy, who works out of the 71st Precinct, was awarded for making 63 arrests last year, including stopping a robbery in progress on Dec. 12, 2006. He also apprehended a man riding his bicycle into oncoming traffic. The suspect, Hillard Sanders, had a pellet gun and has since confessed to three robberies in the area, authorities said.

Sgt. David Cheeswright and Police Officer Michael Byrnes were honored for recovering 16 firearms as a result of 38 search warrants obtained last year.

As head of the Brooklyn North Anti-Crime unit, Sgt. Richard Pignatelli helped produce a 49-percent increase in gun arrests in the 79th Precinct last year. According to the DA's Office, during one six-hour period, officers at the precinct made 18 illegal-firearm arrests. In all, his team made 67 such arrests and seized 55 illegal guns in 2006.

Took Out Hostage-Taker

Police Officer Louis Gubitosi, a sniper-trained Marine who served in Iraq, fatally shot a suspect who assaulted and threatened to kill a woman last September. The suspect, Joseph Bernazard, grabbed a woman and pressed a knife to her head, using her as a shield. The officers at the scene ordered him to drop the weapon, but he refused and threatened to kill the woman. Realizing that he had no other options, Officer Gubitosi fatally shot him in the neck, authorities said.

Resuscitated Baby

Sgt. Chik-Sum Gong and Police Officers Hector Ramirez, John Antonacci, and Nicholas Horun were honored for subduing an armed mentally ill man who had set his apartment ablaze on March 13, 2006. According to authorities, the man, Jonathan Julian, fired two shots and one round hit Officer Ramirez's bullet-proof vest. The other shot grazed Officer Antonacci's back, between his vest and body.

Sgt. Barbra Fischer and Police Officer Elisco Morales got awards for helping to resuscitate an unconscious baby on Sept. 28, 2006.

Court Officers Todd Taylor and James Barbieri were honored for helping apprehend a man who was practicing illegally as a lawyer.

Fire Marshal Lawrence Rottkamp, a 16-year veteran of the Fire Department, investigated a huge fire at the Greenpoint Terminal Market complex. His work helped determine the fire's origin.

The other award winners are: Supervising Investigator Marguerite Grampus, Assistant DA Charles Coleman Jr. and Con Ed customer field representatives Raymond Leslie and Nancy Fines.