Lawrence officers receive recognition for performance.
By: Lea Kahn
Eleven township police officers and two Police Department dispatchers were honored Tuesday night by Township Council for their performance in exceptional circumstances in 2002.
Selected police officers are honored annually by Township Council in conjunction with national Police Week, which was designated as May 12-18. The officers are nominated by their fellow officers, and the winners are chosen by an eight-member Police Department committee.
Patrolmen Bruce B. Miller Jr. and James M. Smith II were each given the Commendable Service Award for helping to apprehend a man who had carjacked a car from a woman in Princeton Borough, according to the resolution presented to the officers by Township Council.
Patrolmen Miller and Smith discovered the stolen car in the parking lot at Mount’s Motel on Brunswick Pike Jan. 22, the day after Princeton Borough police broadcast a description of the vehicle.
The patrolmen went to the room where the carjacker was staying and, with the help of additional police officers, took him into custody. During the investigation, it was learned that the man had robbed the Denny’s Restaurant in Lawrence, as well as a bank in Trenton and other banks in nearby states, the resolution read.
Patrolmen Miller and Smith were honored for their "courage, determination and selfless concern for their own safety," according to the resolution, read by Mayor Greg Puliti. Had it not been for their alertness and perseverance, the man may have continued his crime spree, the resolution said.
Sgt. Joseph Caloiaro received the Commendable Service Award for his role in preventing a woman prisoner at police headquarters from harming herself with the broken end of a glass pipe Jan. 27.
Two police officers were in the process of completing paperwork on the woman who had been arrested. The woman took a glass pipe that she had in her possession, broke off the end of it and held it to her neck. She told the officers she intended to commit suicide.
Sgt. Caloiaro responded to the booking room and began to talk to her. He was able to calm her down and convinced her to drop the glass pipe, according to the resolution.
Sgt. Caloiaro was honored for the professionalism, alertness and perseverance he exhibited in getting the woman to drop the glass pipe so that she could not harm herself or the other police officers in the booking room, the resolution said.
Police Department dispatcher Ellen M. McGinley was honored with the Commendable Service Award for her role in keeping police officers informed as they responded to a call at the Red Roof Inn on Brunswick Pike Feb. 4.
The night manager at the Red Roof Inn called police to report that a woman entered the lobby and told him that a man who was armed with a gun had just assaulted her.
Dispatcher McGinley kept the night manager on the telephone and passed on to the responding police officers all of the information that he gave her. Keeping the officers updated resulted in an increased level of safety for the officers, according to the resolution.
"Were it not for the dedication, perseverance and commitment to officer safety exhibited by Dispatcher McGinley, the incident would not have been handled in such a calm and safe manner," the resolution read.
Sgt. Thomas C. Ritter was awarded the Meritorious Service Award and Patrolmen David R. Dalle Pazze, John F. Glenn, Christopher M. Longo and James M. Smith II were awarded the Commendable Service Award for preventing a suicidal man from harming himself or others Feb. 19.
The police officers were sent to a Glenn Avenue residence after a caller reported that a man had a gun and was going to kill himself. When they arrived, they found the man standing in the driveway of his house. He threatened to kill himself and held an object in his hand that appeared to be a gun.
The officers cordoned off the area and the man went inside his house. He sneaked out of the house and confronted Patrolmen Dalle Pazze and Glenn, who were manning the perimeter that police had set up around the house.
The man then approached Sgt. Ritter and challenged the police officer to shoot him. He held a knife to his own throat in one hand and held onto the gun in his other hand and began to taunt Sgt. Ritter, who had taken cover behind a large tree, according to the resolution. Patrolman Smith ran to assist Sgt. Ritter.
The man ran back into the house. Patrolman Longo called the man on the telephone and established a rapport with him. The police officer calmed him down and then convinced him to come out of the house, unarmed. The man came out of the house and police took him into custody.
Sgt. Ritter and Patrolmen Dalle Pazze, Glenn and Smith were praised for their restraint in not shooting the man who had threatened them, according to the resolution. Patrolman Longo was commended in a separate resolution for his perseverance in convincing the man to come out of the house unarmed.
Dispatcher Randall B. Morton and Patrolman Edmund J. Budzinski were given the Commendable Service Award. They helped to find a woman who had called her husband on her cell phone and told him she was going into diabetic shock "somewhere on Route 1" on Feb. 28, according to the resolution.
Although the cell phone had gone dead, Dispatcher Morton was able to get the telephone number and he called the woman. Although she was going into diabetic shock, she was able to tell him that she had pulled her car off the roadway.
Patrolman Budzinski, who was assigned to the police desk, contacted a Sprint Wireless operator, who was able to determine that the open cell phone was within three miles of a cell phone tower near the West Windsor Township Police Department. The responding officers found the victim on Clarksville Road.
"Were it not for the professionalism, alertness and perseverance of Dispatcher Morton and Patrolman Budzinski, (the woman) may not have survived this life-threatening event," the resolution stated.
Patrolman James D. Vardanega was given the Life Saving Award for his role in saving the life of a man who had been stabbed in a fight at Mount’s Motel on Brunswick Pike on May 14, 2002.
Patrolman Vardanega was sent to the motel after a caller reported there was a fight going on. When he arrived, he was met by a woman who told him that a man had stabbed her boyfriend in their room at the motel, according to a resolution presented to the police officer by Township Council.
After Patrolman Vardanega entered the room and broke up the fight, he noticed that the victim had suffered a puncture wound and a cut to the lower left abdomen, and a cut to his left hand. The police officer called for an ambulance and the lifemobile and administered first aid measures until they arrived. The man was taken to the Capital Health System at Fuld for treatment. He survived.
Patrolman Vardanega was honored for "the determination, alertness and professional life-saving skills that he exhibited as a member of the Lawrence Township Police Department," according to the resolution.
Patrolman Robert J. Potter was honored with the Commendable Service Award for recovering a loaded semi-automatic handgun after he stopped a car on the Outer Ring Road at the Quaker Bridge Mall May 30.
Patrolman Potter asked the driver for his license, and the man said he did not have it with him. He also gave false information to the police officer, who sought to determine his identity. He was charged with hindering apprehension.
Patrolman Potter checked on the identity of the passenger, and found that there were outstanding warrants for his arrest from Trenton. Patrolman Potter arrested him. When the police officer walked back to the car, the passenger’s side door was open. He noticed a handgun underneath the front seat, which was loaded with a hollow point round in the chamber. The gun was ready to be fired.
Patrolman Potter was praised for his professionalism, alertness, perseverance and attention to detail, which resulted in the confiscation of the handgun which otherwise would have remained as a threat to the safety and welfare of citizens, the resolution read.
Patrolman Christopher M. Longo received the Meritorious Service Award for his role in recovering three handguns and drugs on three separate occasions after he stopped the cars for motor vehicle violations last year.
Patrolman Longo recovered a handgun and drugs from a man whose car he stopped May 19, 2002 in the area of Lawrence Road and Millerick Avenue while on routine patrol, the resolutions said.
After the driver got out of the car, the police officer noticed a handgun sticking out from underneath the driver’s seat. While he was searching the man during the arrest procedure, Patrolman Longo also discovered the man had drugs in his possession.
On June 27, 2002, Patrolman Longo stopped a car at the intersection of Whitehead Road and Brunswick Pike. Patrolman Longo quizzed the driver, who eventually admitted to having a pistol underneath the front seat. The police officer recovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun.
And on Feb. 21 of this year, Patrolman Longo stopped a car on Brunswick Pike near I-95. He arrested the driver on an outstanding warrant. After the passenger got out of the car, Patrolman Longo discovered a .40-caliber handgun sticking out from underneath the passenger’s seat, according to the resolution.
"Were it not for the perseverance, alertness and sound investigatory tactics used by Patrolman Longo, these three weapons would have remained as a threat to the safety and welfare of our citizens," the resolution read.
Patrolman Longo was praised for his determination, professionalism and courage that he demonstrated "during these highly unusual police accomplishments," the resolution read.
Patrolmen David R. Dalle Pazze and Timothy J. Kasony Jr. were recognized for their efforts in saving the life of Patrolman Kasony’s grandmother, who had suffered a heart attack July 18. They each received the Life Saving Award.
Patrolman Kasony called for an ambulance and then began to administer CPR to his grandmother. Patrolman Dalle Pazze arrived and used the automatic external defibrillator device, which restored Ms. Kasony’s heartbeat.
The two patrolmen were recognized for their determination, alertness and professional life-saving skills, ensuring that Ms. Kasony survived the episode.

