Valor Awards
Stand-off in Trenton
When serving a warrant for sexual contact with a minor on a reg-
istered sex offender, expectations for a positive experience should
be tempered. But few would predict that the operation would dete-
riorate into a 35-hour armed standoff with multiple wounded and
one killed. Luckily, these officers are trained to handle the worst.
On May 10 at about 6:20 a.m., a
Bronze Medal of Valor
Joint Task Force including Mercer
County Sheriff’s Officers Local 187
Detective Joseph Tuccillo
Detectives Joseph Tuccillo, William
Detective William Perez
Perez and Steven Niederer; Mercer
Detective Steven Niederer
County Prosecutors Local 339 De-
Mercer County Sheriff’s
tective Anthony Abarno; and State
Officers Local 187
Parole Officers Local 326 Parole Offi-
Detective Anthony Abarno
cers Timothy Healy and Barry Volkert
Mercer County
entered an apartment building on
Prosecutors Local 339
Trenton’s Centre Street.
Parole Officer Timothy Healy
“As we arrived, we cleared the first
floor,” Niederer reported. “Then as
Parole Officer Barry Volkert
we got up to the second floor, we got
State Parole Officers
ambushed by the suspect with a fire-
Local 326
arm.”
Three officers – Perez, Tuccillo and Niederer – were injured, and
an innocent bystander was killed in the gunfire before the suspect
barricaded himself in his home.
“At that point, we just reverted to our training and our tech-
niques, ” Niederer explained. “We made sure everybody that was
with us was safe and fled out of the house to take cover. Then we
just maintained a perimeter and waited for more resources to
come and give us aid.”
For almost a day and a half, tactical actions including tear gas
as well as negotiations via bullhorn continued. The officers even
used a robot to deliver a phone to the suspect. Finally, at about 4:40
p.m. on May 11, the 35-year-old suspect called police to say that
he was ready to surrender peacefully. He exited the building with
his hands up a short time later and was taken into custody without
further incident.
“It is a little nerve-wracking,” Niederer admitted. “But you han-
dle the situation as it happens. It’s a learning experience and most
definitely makes you a better officer. I’ve learned a lot from that
day. There’s only so much training you can do. Once you deal with
real-life incidents, it’s a totally different type of situation. That in
itself prepares you for the future. d
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