HILLSBOROUGH: Two officers commended for dealing with suicidal man

    Two members of the township Police Department have been commended for cool and professional actions when confronted with a suicidal armed man Dec. 17.
   Sgt. Karen Hoelzel and Officer Thomas McLain both received the Medal of Merit. Mr. McLain was cited for gathering necessary information so patrols could locate the car without alerting the man and Sgt. Hoelzel for her negotiation skills in convincing the man to surrender peacefully.
   Dec. 17, the suspect man’s wife alerted police to the man — potentially suicidal — in his car. She said she was talking to her husband on a cell phone.
   Officer McLain “quickly assessed the gravity of the situation and, without the man knowing, worked with the man’s wife and cell phone provider to determine the location of the car and alert other offices,” according to the commendation.
   Without alerting the suspect to his presence or involvement, Officer McLain relayed information to dispatchers, who notified Hillsborough police units, and contacted the cell phone provider, who “pinged” the suspect’s cell phone and determined the man’s location.
   A South Bound Brook officer located the victim traveling in his car, but the victim refused to pull over.
   Officer McLain now was communicating via two cell phones — his own, relaying information to dispatchers and with the suspect on the wife’s phone.
   A moderate-speed pursuit continued into Hillsborough.
   Officer McLain continued to speak with the suspect, who told him he had a gun in the car and was going to a location in Hillsborough where this scenario “would end.”
   The pursuit came to a stop at the dead end of Mill Lane where officers Stephen Nowacki, Christopher Weckenman and Thomas Gurba set up a perimeter.
   Sgt. Hoelzel, who is a trained negotiator, began talking with the man, who was holding a gun on himself. She eventually convinced him to first put his hands on the steering wheel and eventually to unload the handgun and throw it out of the car window. He got out of the car and was taken into custody without further incident.
   ”I can only imagine the tension and uncertainty,” said Chief Paul Kaminsky at the Feb. 28 Hillsborough Township Committee meeting when the pair were given their awards.
   Mr. McLain has been with the township department since 1999 and Sgt. Hoelzel since 1995.
   Officers Nowacki, Weckenman and Gurba received departmental command citations for their involvement, too.