Police chiefs from eight communities have nominated 14 sworn officers – including one from Lakewood – and two civilians as potential recipients for this year’s prestigious Valor Award from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Each of this year’s nominees demonstrated exceptional service to their communities,” said NJSACOP President John Zebrowski. “Some exhibited selfless disregard for their safety. Others displayed empathy, charity and a strong, unparalleled eagerness to be good community caretakers.”
NJSACOP will announce its Valor Award winner(s) Thursday, June 30 at a banquet to highlight the association’s 110th Annual Training Conference & Law Enforcement Exposition. The three-day Atlantic City expo starts Monday, June 27 with 650 vendors and more than 7,000 law enforcement professionals expected to attend.
Zebrowski, who also serves as Sayreville’s police chief, said the nominees “exemplify the caliber of public servant that every police chief should encourage and nurture under his or her command.”
To be considered for the 2022 Valor Award:
• Elizabeth Police Chief Giacomo Sacca nominated Detectives Alexander Gonzalez, Luis A. Figueiredo, Rui S. Xavier and Michael M. Nicolas for their March 2021 arrest of two gun-wielding men who fired shots at them. Without returning gunfire, and with disregard for their own safety, these detectives chased the gunmen on foot and subdued both.
• East Windsor Police Chief Edward J. DeMarco Jr. nominated Magregoir Simeon, a civilian who rescued a semi-conscious, badly burned woman from her fire-engulfed home March 6, 2022. Simeon, who is a New Jersey National Guard lieutenant colonel, was driving in the area with his children when he happened upon a house fire. He rushed inside, bringing its female occupant to safety. Simeon – struggling with smoke inhalation at the scene – continued to help responding police officers aid the ailing woman.
• Fairfield Police Chief Anthony G. Manna nominated Lt. Frank Tracey, Officers James Ciampi and Kevin Chen; as well as Wayne police Lt. Robert Franco, for roles in a April 26, 2020 vehicle pursuit that turned deadly. To protect themselves and others, the officers were forced to open fire on the driver, who exited his car on Route 46, brandishing a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun and threatening to shoot the officers.
• Fairview Police Chief Martin M. Kahn nominated Officer Sebastian Castano and resident Michael Sourek, who runs a Cliffside Park towing service, for apprehending a potentially violent suspect Nov. 13, 2021. During a routine stop for traffic violations, Officer Castano noticed a bullet on the driver’s car floor. When questioned, the driver ran away carrying a backpack, later found to contain marijuana, bottles of a prescription antihistamine and an unregistered handgun with an extended magazine. Sourek, who saw Officer Castano needed help, put himself at risk to assist in the arrest.
• Manalapan Police Chief Edward Niesz nominated Patrolman Eric Voorand for his role in rescuing the life of an infant being held and threatened by a gunman in Long Branch on Nov. 11, 2021. Voorand, a 16-year law enforcement veteran and member of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team (ERT), traded gunfire with the shooter after an hours-long standoff ending in the gunman’s death. Voorand and other ERT members have been credited with saving the infant’s life.
• Vineland Police Chief Pedro Casiano nominated Sgt. Louis Platania for persuading a distraught 16-year-old boy to surrender and not harm himself with a knife after the teenager went missing Oct. 25, 2021 from the Youth Consultation Center that provides services to special-needs youngsters. The sergeant used empathy and de-escalation tactics to diffuse the potentially volatile situation and convince the teenager to accept medical treatment and counseling. He spoke with the teenager for days afterward, offering him encouragement and alternate ways to cope.
• Vineland Police Chief Pedro Casiano also nominated Officer Daniel Miller for rescuing two people Feb. 14, 2021 from a fast-moving fire at an East Sherman Road home. Officer Miller scaled an ice-covered ladder to a second-floor porch where two residents were trapped. Without concern for his own safety, Miller helped the home’s two occupants descend to safety, saving their lives. Chief Casiano also noted two Vineland officers paid out-of-pocket to buy boots and a $50 gift card at a nearby store for the fire victims who fled without shoes.