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Four win department's lifesaving award
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Officer George Anderson gets a hug from his son Declan, 5, just before Anderson received one of his awards.
Youngstown Police Department has annual awards luncheon
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Police Chief Robin Lees remembers when the department’s annual awards were so underrated they would be given out at roll call.
Now, the department goes the extra mile to honor its officers and continued that tradition Thursday during the annual awards ceremony at the Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Social Hall.
Lees said it is not just a growing trend over the years toward more respect for police officers but also the fact that the job has grown more professional that has led to the ceremony being more widely recognized.
The awards are conferred by a committee of ranking officers and patrol officers.
Officer Jose Morales Jr., who patrols a beat on the East Side and received a departmental commendation and a Meritorious Service Award, said being selected for recognition by people who do the same job every day is very rewarding.
“It’s a great honor,” Morales said.
Officer George Anderson, who patrols the North Side and won five commendations, a Meritorious Service Award and a Firearm Reduction Award, also said it is special to
be honored by people who share the same experiences. “It feels really good,” Anderson said.
Officer Robert Giovanni, who also patrols a North Side beat after spending the last year on the South Side, said he appreciates the time and effort the awards committee puts in. He was honored with a Meritorious Service Award.
“It makes you feel honored that someone recognizes you for what you did,” Giovanni said.
The four officers who won the department’s Life Saving Award are Edward Colon, Timothy Edwards, Robert Gentile and Marcin Stachowicz.
Edwards was honored for saving the life of an infant Feb. 2 at a South Side home in the 400 block of Ferndale Avenue. He saw the baby was not breathing when he arrived with his partner and performed chest compressions on the baby until it began breathing again when ambulance crews took over. The baby died several days later in the hospital of a medical condition.
Colon and Stachowicz, along with Detective Sgt. James Pasquale, are credited with saving the life of a woman who jumped off a bridge into McKelvey Lake about 8 a.m. Oct. 5. They are credited with pulling the woman out of the water, and a firefighter, Tommy Gibbs Jr., performed CPR on the woman until an ambulance arrived. All four also were honored by the fire department for their actions earlier this year.
Gentile was honored for running into a home that he was called to for a fight that caught fire Dec. 14, and saving a woman who was inside.
Winning the department’s Excellent Duty Award was Lt. William Ross, who also won an Investigate Award along with Capt. Kevin Mercer, Lt. Brian Welsh and Patrolman Morris Lee.