“ We took this job to protect and serve our community, and that’ s what we all did that day,” Padilla confirmed.“ It was a threat that we had to use our training and experience to make sure that no one got hurt.”
There are two sides to the story from the day the train of terror arrived in Linden. Headlines of the shootout circulated the media, from The New York Times to Fox News. The nation read the details of the 9-1-1 call from a local bar owner who reported the man sleeping in the vestibule. And with a simple YouTube search, the world could even watch Padilla’ s fearless approach from the body cam footage that shows him confronting the suspect on the city street doorstep.
“ You can’ t be sleeping on somebody’ s door,” he yelled from inside of the cop car. The nation can see the 11-second pause that followed his remark, as Padilla recognized the bearded face of a wanted man for the first time and collected his thoughts before stepping out of the car to get a closer look.
“ I didn’ t want him to know I knew who he was,” Padilla explained.“ I slowly exited my vehicle and walked to stand right above him to get the advantage.”
The video cuts off right after Padilla is heard calling for backup:“ Any other units, if you can head this way … standby.” But the nation knows what happened next as Rahami pulled his gun and shot the officer directly in the chest. That was the first bullet of many to fire as Hammer, Kahana, Díaz and Guzman chased after the terrorist with their guns drawn until he landed on the pavement, defeated.
“ As soon as I showed up on the scene, Rahami started shooting at my vehicle,” Kahana recalls.“ I ducked behind the steering wheel and waited for him to stop shooting, shot at him about eight times with a handgun, then I took out a rifle and shot him again.”
The foundation of the story is all there and the facts are true, but it’ s the details untold that reveal the other side of the story, that make this event even more remarkable with a call to action that manifested a response of brotherhood, friendship and family on the scene in Linden.
Here’ s the backstory
“ You can’ t even say it’ s a sigh of relief, because you still experience that day on a daily basis,” Padilla stated at the 24th annual Top Cops Award ceremony. The presentation of Local 42’ s courageous actions was followed by a booming standing ovation. But even after being named Top Cops, it was clear that the terror in Linden remained fresh in the officers’ minds.
All five gathered at the front of the ballroom to recount the details of that day that are ingrained in their memories but are pieces of the story that were never told.
The story untold starts at Linden Station, where Padilla checked in with Guzman after bringing him breakfast before his shift began. Guzman was only two days out of training, so Padilla walked the platform with him to make sure his questions were answered before starting the day. But when Guzman heard Padilla’ s voice over the radio just hours later, he didn’ t hesitate to leave his post.
“ It’ s having that mindset that when stuff hits the fan, you learn to take a deep breath, relax and then assess the situation and react to it,” Guzman shared, having been conditioned by his military experience before becoming a Linden officer.
After leaving Guzman at his post, Padilla went to check in with Díaz, who was working a side job just three blocks from terror’ s doorstep. He checked to see if the crew had enough water. They even spoke briefly about the pipe bombs found
Angel Padilla, Jr. accepts the Top Cops award on behalf of his Linden Local 42 partners.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 The Top Cops from Linden with the other honorees. www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ JUNE 2017 37