Officer of the week – Detective Joseph V. Vigiano

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us

Detective Joseph V. Vigiano
Shield 4511
ESS-2
September 10,2001

Detective Joseph V. Vigiano
Shield 4511
ESS-2
(recovered)

Maybe there was something in the water.

For some reason, perhaps a dozen men who came of age during the 1970’s and 80’s in Deer Park, N.Y., developed an appetite for civic duty. They became New York City police officers and firefighters in their professional lives, and volunteer firefighters with Engine Company No. 2 in Deer Park in their personal ones. They called it the Deer Park Connection, and Firefighter John Vigiano and Detective Joseph Vigiano, two of the tightest brothers you could ever find, were among the best-liked and most accomplished members.

Both followed the unwritten manual on growing up right in Deer Park, said their father, John Vigiano, a retired captain in the New York City Fire Department. They were active in sports. They became Eagle Scouts. They hatched pranks that were wicked in their creativity but gentle in their impact. “They never embarrassed me,” said Captain Vigiano. “They were good fathers, good husbands and they were good men.”

John Vigiano, at 36, was older by two years, though his brother never let him forget that he was also four inches shorter and maybe 30 pounds lighter, too. John was the quieter of the two, and spent as much time as possible with his two young daughters, his father said. He was a terrific hockey player (and rabid Rangers fan) and he would occasionally rent out an entire rink for his family, his brother’s family and a few other friends.

Joseph Vigiano, who was known as Joey, loved to mug for the cameras and played lacrosse on the Police Department team, said his wife, Kathy, a fellow police officer. On the job, he was commended for his bravery: he survived being shot on three different occasions. At home, he taught his two boys how to build derby cars of pine. Eventually, he was going to do the same with his youngest son, now 6 months old.

For now, the Vigianos are collecting anecdotes and tributes from friends and relatives on a new Web site, www.vigiano.com. Here, presumably, is one of the last stories: On the Sunday before Sept. 11, Kathy Vigiano returned home after the first game of the season in her soccer league, bruised and tired. She was prepared to make dinner, but instead, she saw that her husband had fixed prime rib, Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, and broccoli with cheese — while watching their baby, too. All this from a guy who had previously insisted that he only knew how to make spaghetti sauce.

– The New York Times 12/29/2001

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Detective Claude D. Richards

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Detective Claude D. Richards
Shield 244
Bomb Squad
August 31, 2009

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Detective Claude D. Richards
Shield 244
Bomb Squad
(recovered)

If ever a man was to the bomb squad born, it was Detective Claude Richards of the New York Police Department. Fearless, meticulous and disciplined nearly to a fault, Detective Richards, 46, the bomb squad’s intelligence coordinator, spent his off-duty hours working, working out and planning his next workday. When he took some time off, it was to defuse land mines in Bosnia with a United Nations peacekeeping force.

All the way from boyhood, Dan, as Detective Richards was known, “always wanted to charge up to the front,” said his brother, Jim, “just to prove himself.” He was in the Rangers in the Army, and on the bomb squad his command presence allowed him to give orders to colleagues who far outranked him as he oversaw security logistics for events ranging from presidential visits to the United States Tennis Open.

Detective Richards, who lived in Chelsea, was a complicated man. True, he could yell at a co-worker who borrowed his stapler and put it back in the wrong place, but he also didn’t think twice before taking his shoes off on the street and giving them to a vagabond, Jim Richards said.

Detective Richards’s work ethic left him little time or space for relationships, his brother said, but added, “He was so devoted to his work I don’t think he had a problem with it.”

– The New York Times 12/15/2001

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Sergeant Timothy A. Roy

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Sergeant Timothy A. Roy
Shield 2926
Traffic Control Division Bus Unit
August 26, 2009

 

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Sergeant Timothy A. Roy
Shield 2926
Traffic Control Division Bus Unit

Timothy Roy was on his way to traffic court when he got the news of the World Trade Center disaster and ran to help. He was last seen in Building 5 helping a burn victim. “That was him. The first one on any scene. Right in there,” said his wife, Stacey.

Roy, 36, is a sergeant for the bus squad of the New York City Police Department. The lifelong Massapequa Park resident is a graduate of Berner High School in Massapequa. He and his wife have three children-Caitlyn, 10, Brittney, 7, and Timmy Jr., 3. Roy, a 16-year veteran of the police department, has eight siblings, including three brothers in the fire department and another brother who is a police officer. Among Roy’s awards is a unit citation for his work during the Crown Heights riot in 1991.

– New York Newsday Victim Database 2001

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis
Shield 1889
ESU-8
August 19, 2009

 

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis
Shield 1889
ESU-8

New York City Police Officer Rodney Gillis had just finished his shift, which ended at 8 a.m., and was hanging around talking to his fellow officers with the Emergency Services Unit when the first plane smashed into the World Trade Center. As usual, he was the first one on the scene.

Gillis, 34, and other Emergency Services officers, who included his former high school teacher, Police Officer John Dallara from ESU Truck 3, were believed to be in the belly of the South Tower when it collapsed, Green said. ” We know his team penetrated deep into the building.”

Both Gillis and Dallara are among the 23 missing city police officers.

Gillis joined the department in 1988. Promoted to sergeant in 1997, he was loved and respected by his men in Emergency Services Truck 8, said Gillis’ former supervisor retired Lt. Richard Green, because he was brave and strong. ” And just a terrific guy.”

Green noted that Gillis, a Brownsville resident, was ” a Brooklyn boy through and through.” His mother, Geraldine, also lives in Brooklyn and his father, Otha, lives in North Carolina. He attended Park West High School in Brooklyn as a talented student and received a certificate from St. John’s University in Queens and a degree from the Island Drafting and Technical Institute in Amityville.

To those who know him, Gillis is thought of as something of a Renaissance man. On the job, he was trained as a scuba diver, has his EMT certification, is trained in emergency psychology and is also a technician who deals with hazardous materials. Off the job, he was remodeling both his and his parents’ home. He loves to play saxophone and is devoted to his three children..

But his dedication to the job, the one that made him run out the door with the rest of the crew after his shift was done, is what defined Gillis, Green said. ” He’s a true warrior.”

– New York Newsday Victim Database 9/26/2001

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Sergeant Michael S. Curtin

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Sergeant Michael S. Curtin
Shield 3256
ESS-2
(recovered)
August 12, 2009

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Sergeant Michael S. Curtin
Shield 3256
ESS-2

Sergeant Michael S. Curtin, 45, was appointed to the NYPD on January 26, 1988, after serving 12 years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps. He began his career on patrol in Field Training Unit 13. He was originally assigned to ESU in July 1991, but saw his police career interrupted when, as a USMC reservist, he was called to duty during Desert Storm. Serving on the front lines, he held the rank of gunnery sergeant and retired from the Reserves as a Sergeant Major. After returning to the NYPD, he responded to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and was also assigned to FEMA in the Oklahoma City rescue efforts. He was promoted to sergeant in December 1995, and re-assigned to ESU in 1998. Although he had recently taken up golf, most of his spare time was spent working on his house. He is survived by his wife Helga; children Jennifer, Erika, and Heather; and brother Jack.

– SPRING 3100, Commemorative Issue

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Sergeant John Gerard Coughlin

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Sergeant John Gerard Coughlin
Shield 375
ESS-4
August 4, 2009

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Sergeant John Gerard Coughlin
Shield 3751
ESS-4

John G. Coughlin was a giving man, and that kept him very busy.

Sergeant Coughlin, 43, was with the emergency services unit of the New York Police Department. In his spare time, he was a volunteer firefighter in Pomona, N.Y., where he lived with his family. “He was always on the go,” said his wife, Patricia Coughlin.

He was good at spoiling his three daughters, Erin, 16, Tara, 13, and Kayla, 6. He took them parasailing, white-water rafting and to amusement parks. He took them to baseball games, but there was a slight complication. He was a Mets fan and all three girls are Yankees fans — Mrs. Coughlin is neutral — and so they went to both stadiums. When the Yankees played the Mets in the World Series, well, that got a little tense.

A former Marine, Sergeant Coughlin was active in the Rockland County detachment of the Marine Corps League, helping older veterans and doing honor guard duty at funerals. “He loved that,” his wife said. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” One of his favorite times was the middle of December, when he would take a week’s vacation to work on the Marine Toys for Tots Program. “He was a firm believer that every kid should have a toy for Christmas,” Mrs. Coughlin said.

– The New York Times 12/15/2001

Source: NYP Angels

Officer of the Week – Det. Alanzo

by NMPD/PIO
July 28, 2009

On The North Miami Police Department’s “Officer of the Month” is Detective Alanzo June 18, 2009, a woman was brutally attacked and robbed while she was walking to her friend’s house. She was attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and punched in the face more than 20 times by the subject. He also kicked her about her body then forcibly stole her handbag. The attack was so violent that the victim’s dentures were knocked from her mouth and an earring was ripped from her ear. She was transported to Jackson Hospital for treatment. A witness observed the crime and gave important information to Detective Rhymer. He spoke to the manager of the apartment complex the subject was seen entering with the purse an obtained the video. With the help of the Crime Analyst, he quickly identified the subject. A team of detectives responded to the subject’s residence but he refused to open the door. After 30 minutes of negotiating, he opened the door and was arrested, confessing to the whole incident.

In addition to this case, he has recently investigated three other violent felonies, which resulted in the arrest of the offenders. On May 1 2009, he responded to a bank robbery and obtained the video surveillance. The subject was identified, located and arrested within days of the robbery. On June 4, 2009, one day after an armed carjacking, he located and arrested the subject,. On June 11, 2009, he arrested a subject who was in possession of stolen property belonging to another armed robbery victim.

Due to Detective Rhymer’s tenacity and dedication, he was selected as Officer of the Month for June 2009. He was honored at the Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon, which is held monthly at the Miami Shores Country Club.

Source: North Miami Police Department

Officer of the Week – Trooper Joshua Miller

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
July 22, 2009

YATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Joshua Miller was a highly committed member of the Pennsylvania state police – a trooper’s trooper obsessed with physical fitness and taking drunken drivers off the road.

But the 34-year-old Marine veteran had another side, his square-jawed intensity betrayed by glints of the mischievous schoolboy he once was. He told tall tales about his prowess as a hunter, ribbed colleagues mercilessly, sponged food. He grinned ear-to-ear whenever he spoke about his three daughters. He was so in love with his wife that he once left her a piece of tape with an imprint of his lips – a “kiss.”

That more intimate side of Miller emerged during his funeral service Friday as hundreds of police officers from 48 states gathered on a football field in northeastern Pennsylvania to mourn and honor the fallen trooper, killed in a shootout Sunday night while helping to rescue a boy who had been kidnapped by his father.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press Friday that surveillance footage from a sporting goods store showed the man’s girlfriend purchasing the handgun in late May. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into how Daniel Autenrieth, 31, got the gun is not complete.

Autenrieth, who was not permitted to have a weapon under the terms of a protection-from-abuse order, was with his girlfriend when she bought the 9 mm handgun, the official said.

After arguing with his estranged wife Sunday night, Autenrieth kidnapped his son at gunpoint and led police on a 40-mile chase into the Pocono Mountains, then opened fire as troopers rushed his car. Autenrieth and Miller died in the gunbattle and another trooper was wounded.

Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, who was hit in the torso, were credited with distracting Autenrieth while other officers whisked the boy to safety. Autenrieth’s son was unhurt.

“On Sunday, June 7, 2009, there would be no compromise of duty,” state police commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said at the funeral service, held on the football field at Pittston Area High School. “Evil was met with bold courage and an unrelenting will to do what must be done.”

Pawlowski posthumously awarded Miller the state police Medal of Honor, giving the medal to his sobbing widow, Angela, a state police communications operator.

The funeral procession was led by a kilt-wearing drum and bagpipe corps, followed by a hearse bearing the emblem of the United States Marine Corps and a riderless horse. The football field was a sea of dress uniforms in various shades of blue, brown, gray and black as officers stood at attention under mostly sunny skies. At least four officers fell ill due to the heat, including a state police lieutenant taken off the football field on a stretcher.

Wyoming County Chief Detective David Ide recounted his friend’s love of hunting – and his penchant for embellishment, like the time Miller claimed to have tracked a bear 30 miles into the woods and then wrestled it to the ground.

“If you would listen to Josh tell a story about his hunting adventures … you would think you were listening to Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone,” quipped Ide, who was chief of the Tunkhannock borough police when Miller joined the force as a rookie cop in 1999. “But Josh would be the first one to tell you that his wife Angie was the better hunter of the two of them.”

An emotional Gov. Ed Rendell said all of Pennsylvania mourned the loss of Miller, the first state police trooper to die in the line of duty since 2005.

“There are 12.4 million of us who share your grief today,” he told Miller’s wife and three daughters, ages 16, 13 and 2. “We grieve because of the tragedy that has befallen you and your extended family. … We grieve for every law enforcement officer in the commonwealth because Trooper Miller’s death is a reminder of the ongoing danger that each and every one of (them) face every day, an unknown danger.”

After the funeral, Miller’s body was taken to Laceyville for a private burial.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

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