Marc Kovar
Executive Vice President
Visit to Puerto Rico shows how
our members can take the heat
Shortly after our plane touched down in Puerto Rico, and a
few minutes after we had seen the devastation that still lingers
in the wake of Hurricane Maria, we saw true New Jersey law
enforcement officers.
On Nov. 30, NJ State PBA First Vice President Pete Andreyev
and I accompanied Pete Stilianessis, president of the NJ State
Troopers NCO, to Puerto Rico, where four groups of NJ law en-
forcement officers were finishing a series of two-week deploy-
ments assisting with hurricane recovery. State PBA President
Pat Colligan was supposed to join us, but he had to tend to
business as part of Governor-elect Murphy’s transition team.
On a tour of some of the details, we saw our members joining
State Police officers in full uniforms and vests, working traffic
and security posts in 100-degree-plus heat. They began at 4:30
a.m. and didn’t return to their hotel until after 5:30 p.m. They
had been there for two weeks and worked this same 12-hour-
plus shift on Thanksgiving Day.
When we asked them about missing Thanksgiving, they told
us, “Thanksgiving will be here next year.”
When we asked them why they volunteered to come to Puer-
to Rico, they told us, “It’s the right thing to do.”
That’s our membership. That’s what law enforcement is all
about. Nobody was ordered to go, but the people of Puerto Rico
really needed our help. They still have no electricity. There are
trees down everywhere. It’s going to take years for the country
to come back. If it ever comes back.
But our members have been there the past two months. Even
on Thanksgiving. In the 100-degree heat. Thousands of miles
from home.
Let me thank all o f you for making us proud. For making the
entire state of New Jersey look great. You showed everybody
who we really are. We are not the greedy law enforcement of-
ficers who only care about pension and benefits. We give and
give back because that’s what we signed up for; because it’s the
right thing to do.
I can’t imagine what our members and state police officers
went through during their two-week deployments. When we
arrived, we went to the command post set up at the convention
center where we met with our contingent of women and men
and Captain Sean Kilcommons of the State Police, who was in
charge of the final two-week deployment.
Captain Kilcommons supervised all deployments, including
the last one we had the chance to see. From talking with our
members, it was easy to see how we formed one big team to
provide assistance. The State Police made our members feel
very comfortable during their deployments, and we are thank-
ful for their guidance and support.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló also came to see us.
This was the first time he came to meet with our officers from
New Jersey, and we had a chance to introduce him to some of
our members and take some pictures.
After the meet and greet, we went on a tour of the areas our
officers were detailed to. As I mentioned, much of our work
From left, State PBA First Vice President Pete Andreyev, Executive Vice Presi-
dent Marc Kovar, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló and State Troopers
NCO President Pete Stilianessis outside the Hurricane Maria response com-
mand center.
supported traffic and security, though some of our members
were assigned to work in some of the troubled areas where
the devastation was particularly bad. Those who went on this
deployment displayed the mettle and bravery that we find in
all our members, all law enforcement officers throughout the
state.
After the tour, we went back to the hotel where our members
were staying. Each deployment was throwing a going-away par-
ty and we sponsored a pig roast at the hotel. We walked around
and talked to everyone from many different departments. We
had the chance to meet members like Bergen County Prosecu-
tor’s Local 221 State Delegate Dennis Conway, and Perth Am-
boy Local 13 State Delegate Jorge Martinez, who underscored
how our women and men in Puerto Rico represented the heart
and soul of true law enforcement officers.
The soul of the entire group might have been Mountain Lakes
Local 310 State Delegate Sam Trimble. Everywhere we went,
they all talked about Sam, how he kept everybody laughing.
He was the rock star of the group, the guy I was told could put
everybody in a good mood. When times were tough, Sam was
one of the guys who kept everybody going. Thank you, Sam, for
your support.
What was also amazing to me is the way our members were
so thankful for coming down there to say hello. But we really
came to express our thanks. Thank you to everybody for volun-
teering and for your service.
In closing, I want to remind everybody that this is the worst
time of year for officers taking their own lives. We have lost three
officers through the first two weeks of December. Please, please
keep your eyes open. You don’t need to be a State Delegate,
Local President or chief of police to be your sister’s or broth-
er’s keeper. If you see somebody having a hard time, please get
them help.
Have a great, safe holiday season. Let’s look forward to a new
beginning in 2018. d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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