Six citizens were honored by Lawrence Township Council recently for their role in helping to solve crimes and to save others from harm during the past year.
Urszula and Blazez Szysko helped the Lawrence Township Police Department solve a rash of car burglaries when they made a trip to the Police Department in August of 2018 to report suspicious activity on Spruce Street, according to a proclamation given to the couple by Township Council.
The couple’s neighbors on Spruce Street had been victims of break-ins to their cars. The couple reviewed their surveillance camera video and observed three men pulling on car door handles to find out if the car was locked.
They provided the surveillance video to police, who used the information to proactively patrol the area. It led to the arrest of four men who were observed breaking into a car. Two of the men were linked to additional burglaries and thefts to cars.
“We need citizens to assist us,” Police Chief Brian Caloiaro said.
A four-month-old baby, who had been left inside a car at the Quaker Bridge Mall on a hot day in May 2018, was saved from harm by an alert couple who heard him crying in a car parked next to their car, according to a proclamation given to the couple.
Luis Rivera and Melissa Velazquez called 911 to report that a baby was in distress and sweaty because of the high temperatures. The couple opened the car door and took the baby out of the car.
They gave the baby some water to drink and wiped him down with baby wipes until police officers arrived.
“If it were not for Luis Rivera and Melissa Velazquez to hear the infant cry next to their vehicle and taking immediate action, the infant may have sustained serious injury,” the proclamation said.
The Township Council also honored an off-duty United States Secret Service inspector who pulled a man out of his burning home on Trumbull Avenue in November of 2018, risking injury to himself as he did so.
The off-duty inspector, Richard Macauley, was visiting friends on Trumbull Avenue when he heard a loud explosion at a house down the street. He ran up to the side door of the house and discovered the homeowner stumbling out of the house.
The victim’s body and clothes were on fire, and Macauley dragged him to safety and put out the flames, the proclamation said. If it had not been for Macauley’s actions, the victim’s injuries would have been more severe and possible fatal.
“(Macauley) was the right person in the right place at the right time. Most people do not run toward trouble, but in our business, we do,” Chief Caloiaro said.
Finally, a proclamation was given to Andrew Popso, a Florence Township fire commissioner, who helped police officers restrain a man who had been involved in a car crash on I-295 in of November 2018.
Popso was driving in the opposite direction of the accident when he saw the police officers struggling with the man. He appeared to be disoriented and was walking toward oncoming traffic, yelling and screaming at the officers and the passing cars.
The man ran toward one of the police officers while the other police officer grabbed him from behind. The officers wrestled the man to the ground, and Popso assisted them so they could handcuff the driver – who appeared to be under the influence of drugs – without harm.
“(Popso) put himself in danger. We appreciate that he kept our officers safe,” Chief Caloiaro said.
