Hillsborough Township Police Officer Richard Tichenor received a proclamation in honor of his heroic actions during Tropical Storm Ida last year.
Tichenor was awarded a Medal of Merit after he braved neck-deep water to rescue a woman from the top of her submerged vehicle on Sept. 1, 2021, according to a proclamation read during the March 22 committee meeting.
Tichenor was dispatched to Mountainview Road for a report of vehicles submerged in the flooded roadway and people trapped in their vehicles, according to the proclamation. He observed Kristen Sikorski trapped on the roof of her submerged vehicle, and due to the water rising quickly, Tichenor was unable to wait for additional support and initiated a water rescue with the victim’s husband, Joseph Samec, an off-duty Montgomery Township police officer.
Tichenor positioned himself in neck deep water, allowing Samec to swim to his wife.
Tichenor then pulled both Sikorski and Samec out of the rising waters.