SPOTSWOOD — Two borough police officers were recognized last week for saving the life of a Main Street resident.
“What we do that often goes unnoticed … is the preservation and saving of lives,” Police Chief Michael Zarro said during the Nov. 10 Borough Council meeting.
Zarro presented the Police Department’s Life Saving Award to patrolmen Nelson Nichols and Richard Drude, who are credited with helping resident Robin Small on June 14.
Life Saving Awards are presented following a review by both the police chief and the Spotswood Police Benevolent Association Local No. 225, according to Zarro.
“This award is in recognition of your actions together after being summoned to [an apartment] on Main Street for an unresponsive female,” he said. “Your ability to recognize the nature of the emergency, evidence of good judgment, and quick and decisive action was directly responsible for establishing a pulse, breathing and preserving the subject’s life.”
Zarro said he could not provide details of the medical emergency, but he confirmed that Small had no pulse and was not breathing when officers arrived on the scene.
Small attended the meeting and thanked the officers for saving her life.
“I would not be here today if it were not for these two. I was, for all intents and purposes, gone,” she said.
Two weeks after the incident, she said she had a poignant moment upon seeing the police officers at her son’s graduation ceremony.
“To think how much my children’s lives and my granddaughter’s would be altered if I was not here today — I cannot put into words how to say ‘thank you’ to someone who gives you life.” Small said. “And I am just grateful to the both of them that they were there at the time they were there. If it was not for them, I would not be here.”
Mayor Nicholas Poliseno said the awards alone were a great honor, but having Small at the meeting to witness the presentation made it that much more special.
“I think it is great how Chief Zarro gives out the awards, but tonight made it real to actually hear from the person [the officers] saved,” he said. “That totally makes this end up hitting home that she is here talking and walking because of your training.”
Also at the meeting, Zarro introduced the department’s newest hire, Officer Steven Gallo, a former member of the Helmetta Police Department.
“I had the majority of police officers in my town come to me and tell me how fond they were of working with Steven Gallo in Helmetta and how fine an addition he would be for us,” Zarro said. “He interviewed well and has an impeccable background, so I welcome him aboard.”