LAWRENCE: Council honors the township’s finest

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Their job description is to serve and protect Lawrence Township, but last week, nine police officers were the ones being served — with thanks from Township Council.
   Six civilians also were honored by Township Council at its May 15 meeting for their actions in helping the police to save lives and stop criminals. (See related story.)
   Mayor Jim Kownacki and Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny handed out resolutions honoring the police officers at Township Council’s May 15 meeting, in connection with National Police Week, which was May 13-19. The honorees are nominated and a special committee made up of police officers chooses the winners.
   Sgt. Joseph Amodio received recognition for his role in helping the Hamilton Township Police Department apprehend a cross-dressing man who robbed a Chase Bank at gunpoint in that township on June 23, 2011.
   ”This is one of my favorite ones,” Chief Posluszny said, as he read the resolution outlining the circumstances that led to Sgt. Amodio’s actions.
   The bank robber, attempting to pass for a woman, was wearing a dress with a distinctive pattern, which was clearly shown in bank surveillance photographs distributed to area police departments. Sgt. Amodio, who was assigned to the Quaker Bridge Mall, saw a woman wearing an identical dress.
   Sgt. Amodio asked the woman where she purchased the dress, and she told him that she bought it at a women’s clothing store at a Hamilton Township shopping center. He gave that information to Hamilton police officers, who visited the store and tracked down the robber.
   ”The Hamilton Township Police Department contacted the Lawrence Township Police Department, stating that it was Sgt. Amodio’s phone call that solved the robbery investigation for them,” the resolution said.
   ”Township Council recognizes and pays tribute to Sgt. Amodio for the alertness, determination, keen investigative skills and professionalism” that he exhibited as a member of the Lawrence Township Police Department, it read.
   Also honored last week was Police Officer Steven Simon, for his role in apprehending a man who had stolen a car from the City of Trenton and who led him on a foot chase through several backyards before a civilian helped the officer stop the man.
   Officer Simon saw a suspicious car at a business on Princeton Avenue on Jan. 4, and when he checked the license plates, he discovered that it had been reported stolen from the City of Trenton. He tried to stop the car, but the driver would not stop. The car struck several objects and became disabled, and that’s when the driver jumped out and started to run away.
   Officer Simon chased the man on foot through the backyards into the City of Trenton, but could not catch him. A civilian stopped to help the police officer and the man got into her car and tried to get away. But the police officer and the civilian were able to keep him in the car until more police officers arrived.
   ”Were it not for the professionalism, alertness and perseverance of Officer Simon, the male would have remained at large to the jeopardy of the residents of both Lawrence and the City of Trenton,” the resolution said.
   A stolen car also played a role in the actions of Police Officers Marc Caponi and Andrew Lee, for which they were honored and recognized by Township Council.
   The two officers saw a car leaving the Howard Johnson Motel on Brunswick Pike with its lights off on Jan. 7, and thinking that it was suspicious, a check of the license plates by Officer Caponi showed it was reported stolen from the City of Trenton.
   Officers Caponi and Lee tried to stop the car, but it continued toward Trenton. The three occupants tossed some items out of the car — two handguns loaded with hollow-point bullets, which were recovered by the officers — before they abandoned the car in Trenton. They started to run away, but the two police officers chased them on foot and caught them.
   ”Township Council recognizes and pays tribute to Officers Lee and Caponi for the determination, professionalism and intelligent actions that they exhibited as members of the Lawrence Township Police Department,” the resolution read.
   Police Officers Caponi, Sean Kerins and Shawn Sudol were recognized for catching two would-be burglars who were preparing to burglarize a store at the Lawrence Shopping Center in the July 21, 2011 incident.
   The three police officers were patrolling the shopping center because of a rash of burglaries when Officer Kerins saw two men walking toward the rear of the shopping center. He tried to stop them, but they fled. He chased them and called for Officers Caponi and Sudol for help.
   Officer Sudol tackled one of the men from behind and Officer Caponi ordered the other man to the ground, where they were both taken into custody.
   ”Were it not for the perseverance and selfless concern and sound police tactics of Officers Caponi, Kerins and Sudol, these individuals would have remained free to commit more crimes in the area,” the resolution said.
   Sgt. Michael Yeh and Officer Shawn Carroll were honored for helping to revive an electrician who had been electrocuted while doing work at the township’s Department of Public Works facility July 8, 2011.
   The police officers arrived within four minutes of being dispatched and found the electrician’s co-workers trying to save his life. The police officers took over and used a semi-automatic defibrillator and also administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the victim, reviving him. He recovered after being hospitalized.
   Township Council “recognizes and pays tribute” to Sgt. Yeh and Officer Carroll “for the determination, alertness and professional life-saving skills that (they) exhibited as members of the Lawrence Township Police Department,” the resolution said.
   Rounding out the awards, Sgt. Joseph Amodio and Police Officer Robert Loveless were honored for their work as evidence technicians, which calls for them to process crime scenes for evidence. Sgt. Amodio has served as an evidence technician since 1997 and Officer Loveless since 1995.
   Through the years, Officer Loveless has submitted a total of 16 fingerprints and Sgt. Amodio has submitted 11 fingerprints that resulted in arrests of suspects for theft, carjacking, car theft, burglary and eluding police.
   ”That’s 27 crimes that were solved because of their hard work,” Chief Posluszny said.