 Sgt. Errol Nicholas is flanked, from left, by David Taylor, V.P. of administration and finance at Medgar Evers, and Victor Stevens, director of public safety. |
Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn
Sgt. Errol Nicholas, a campus peace officer at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, knew what to do when a payroll officer at the college suffered a heart attack on the job around 11 a.m. He immediately administered the automated external defibrillator (AED) and gave the man CPR until the EMS and the Fire Department arrived on the scene.
Nicholas, who has more than 21 years of service at the college’s Public Safety Department, saved Herman Fulton’s life and gained “the utmost respect from staff, faculty and the student community,” said his supervisor, Lt. Sharon E. Davis. The department held a ceremony in April to recognize Nicholas for his outstanding service.
Fulton survived for two months after Nicholas’ heroic action, but unfortunately his condition deteriorated and he died at Kings County Hospital.
LaGuardia Community College, Long Island City
Campus Peace Officers Frank Antwi, Edwin Manzzo and Cpl. Frank Anguili responded to a call for help from the admissions office at La- Guardia Community College where a disorderly man was attempting to register around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 6.
The CPOs removed the man from the office and asked him for an ID, which he refused to provide. The man became aggressive and CPO Johnny Rojas tried to arrest him, but the man struck Rojas in the chin with his elbow as he tried to escape, and a struggle ensued. With assistance from CPOs Manzzo, Antwi, Anguili and CSA Davis, Rojas made the arrest. Antwi sustained an injury to his right hand during the struggle.
CPO George Rodriguez searched the man and vouchered his property, and Rojas and CPO Michael Ruggieri took the man to the 108th Pct. For processing. He was charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
|
|
Hostos Community College, The Bronx
The Department of Public Safety at Hostos Community College and campus peace officers from various other CUNY colleges provided elite security, with assistance from the New York City Police Department, for the historic inauguration of the first Latina New York City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, at the Bronx campus on Jan. 28. The event was attended by 1,200 guests, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and many elected officials. Chief Arnaldo Bernabe, director of Public Safety at Hostos, thanked the officers for their professionalism and excellent service.
Manhattan Alternate Learning Center
Last Dec. 11, an angry male student punched a hole through a glass door during class and severed two arteries in his left wrist. He also sustained multiple cuts on both hands. School Safety Agent Ken Moore provided emergency first aid to the student in the bathroom, where he ran water on the wounds, called EMS and directed staff to find medical supplies to stanch the bleeding.
School Counselor Ivonne Jones recalled that when she opened the first-aid kit to aid Moore she found no gauze in it. Moore then cut the student’s undershirt to make a tourniquet while Jones held the wound shut with her hand. The wound was bound by the time EMS arrived. Meanwhile, SSA Niesha Whitaker conducted the routine dismissal process which deals with suspensions.
The SSAs handled “a chaotic and traumatic situation in a professional manner,” said Jones, in a commendation letter she sent to their supervisors. “We really appreciate the SSAs and couldn’t do our work without them.”
High School for Health Professions and Human Services, and the Institute for Collaborative Education High School, Manhattan
During a change of period on the morning of March 10, a fight broke out between two students, one from each of the two high schools housed in a facility at East 15 Street. The fight drew a crowd of students, as well as five school safety agents, led by Sgt. Hector Ponce, with 25 years of service, who was joined by the dean.
 A few of LaGuardia’s finest campus peace officers. From left, they are Johnny Rojas, Cpl. Frank Anguili, Edwin Manzzo, George Rodriguez, and Michael Ruggieri. |
“We tried to restrain them and stop the fight,” said Ponce, but word of the fight spread and “another 30 or so came out and jumped the students that we held.”
The SSAs called for assistance from the Task Force, NYPD, EMS, supervisors and commanding officers, said Ponce. “We cuffed six students who were fighting” and arrested them. The students were charged at the precinct with disorderly conduct.
School safety agents, including Sgt. Ponce, Miguel Planas, Davindra Dwarka, Natalie Phillips, and Luis Maldonado, were taken to Beth Israel Hospital for injuries to the head, face, chest and ribs. A few SSAs needed several days or a week to recover.
