Valor Awards
N THE NAME OF THE FATHER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 75
A few minutes after Richard began administering CPR, the
Ewing police department showed up. The entire department,
or so it seemed. Fellow Local 111 members shocked their col-
league, who had retired eight months earlier, with an AED.
Twice.
Paramedics arrived, administered drugs and shocked Patrick
again. They brought him back, but he coded again, then again
in the ambulance and once more at the hospital. By the time
doctors put in a stent, they diagnosed that Patrick had 100 per-
cent blockage in one of his veins.
Patrick came to the Valor Awards to honor his son, see his
Local 111 friends and report that he’s doing great since his son
SURF AND RESCUE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 75
“Everyone was just watching them get sucked out,” Picurro
explained. “The first guy I got to was under water. I told him to
try and relax and I put him on my surfboard.”
Once the first victim was on Picurro’s board, he noticed a large
wave rolling in toward them. Making a vital last-minute deci-
sion, Picurro warned the man to hold on while he duck dived the
two of them under the roar of the wave.
Devoe swam up to the second victim and pulled him up just
as the victim began to sink under the water. As the 14-year-old
76
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ DECEMBER 2017
saved his life.
“He’s something else, ain’t he,” Patrick boasted. “Nothing
bothers him. That’s just him. That’s always been him. He’s going
to make a great firefighter.”
Richard confirmed he wants to make his own path in the first
responder world rather than follow in Patrick’s footsteps. But
from what he’s learned from his father – “Just to stay calm” – it’s
a safe bet that more honors and awards will come Richard’s way.
For now, however, other than maybe having his allowance
doubled, there’s one overwhelming reward from his action that
means the most to Richard. And that’s hearing Patrick talk like
he did at the Valor Awards.
“I don’t look back,” Patrick exclaimed. “I keep looking for-
ward, keep getting up every morning.” d
dragged the man to the shore, he noticed the weight of the res-
cue increase. The victim was relying on Devoe to keep him afloat.
“When I got the guy to the shore, as soon as his feet touched
the sand he kind of collapsed,” Devoe detailed.
After helping rescue the final victim stuck in the rip current,
Devoe and Picurro grabbed their surfboards and returned to
business as usual, riding the Jersey Shore waves. But the fearless
actions they took to save three men were recognized by Local
252, whose members thought these young men deserved to be
honored as young civilian heroes. d