Meritorious Service
Patrolman Michael J . Lynch , Jr . Manchester Local 246
Valor Awards
Sometimes your sixth sense knows what it ’ s talking about . On July 31 , 2016 , Patrolman Michael Lynch responded to a 9-1-1 call for a man who was threatening suicide . The man himself had made the call and requested that police officers come to his location near a residence on Robin Street . Right from the start , Lynch was more concerned than usual .
“ Something was odd about the call ,” said Lynch . “ The hair on the back of my neck stood up . I had a weird feeling that things weren ’ t going to go right .”
Patrolman Lynch ’ s instincts proved correct , as the distraught 18-year-old was armed with a large knife . Lynch made contact with the man , attempting to calm him down . Their dialogue deteriorated , however , and the man began to advance toward him .
Lynch and other officers gave the man “ commands to relax , surrender and to drop his weapon ,” according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutor ’ s Office . The man refused and continued to walk toward them in a threatening manner . When he refused to obey repeated commands , Patrolman Lynch fired one shot at him , and the man fell to the ground . “ He didn ’ t give us too much of a choice ,” said Lynch . Lynch and other officers immediately gave first aid to the man . He was transported to a nearby hospital , where he was pronounced dead .
Officers later learned that the man was at the residence because he
Following his instincts
was cleaning it , along with his mother . Investigators found a handwritten note near the man , written just before he dialed 9-1-1 , saying that he intended to commit suicide by officer . He also apologized to the officer who would respond to his call .
Lynch spent 10 years on the regional SWAT team in Ocean County , and this is the second time that he ’ s been involved in a shooting . He said he has been trying to lay low since the incident and is honored but anxious about receiving the meritorious award .
“ It ’ s a little overwhelming ,” he said . “ Seeing everyone applaud me tonight reminds me that this career is truly a brotherhood and sisterhood .” d
Meritorious Service
Sergeant Christine Auleta Corporal James Kennedy Officer Michael DeCandia Branchburg Local 397
Found in translation
On Sept . 23 , 2016 , Sergeant Christine Auleta , Corporal James Kennedy and Officer Michael DeCandia responded to a report of a man walking through the American Stray-Tech warehouse and threatening his coworkers with a knife .
Officer DeCandia was the first to arrive on scene and initially walked past the man , not realizing that he was the subject in question .
“ DeCandia walked into the main area where all of the workers were , and the man tried to sneak by him ,” said Corporal Kennedy . “ I think somebody kind of pointed him out , and DeCandia handled the situation .”
Sergeant Auleta arrived a few minutes later , and her language skills were helpful in communicating with the suspect .
“ There was a huge language barrier ,” said Corporal Kennedy . “ He was speaking all Spanish ; most of the workers spoke Spanish as well . That was one of the issues as we were trying to talk to him and Officer DeCandia was trying to disarm him .”
Auleta , who is fluent in Portuguese but also speaks Spanish , was able to communicate with the man , and she began giving him commands to drop the knife . He then put his hands on the wall and let the officers approach . They patted him down in a very tight stairwell . As the officers attempted to handcuff him , however , he reached for DeCandia ’ s weapon .
“ I don ’ t know if he misunderstood , whether he was under arrest or we were just cuffing him for safety purposes ,” Kennedy said , “ but he just flipped out and started punching and kicking and grabbed for Officer DeCandia ’ s gun at that point .”
64 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ DECEMBER 2017
A violent struggle ensued . After repeated punches and kicks to the officers from the man , the officers were finally able to subdue him .
Kennedy credits the officers ’ training in allowing them to handle the situation safely and prevent the man from harming any of the nearly 100 employees on site .
“ It ’ s being confident in the people you work with and knowing they ’ re handling it ,” he said . “ You take the proper precautions for every situation . You just assume the worst . Assume the person is not going to be compliant , so that ’ s where the training comes in .” He also expressed gratitude for the safe resolution to this incident . “ You just be thankful that everybody was able to handle it with very little injuries or problems ,” he said . “ Nobody got stabbed or anything . Bruises heal .” d