NJ Cops June2018 | Page 32

Top Cop Coming out on Top A fearless response to a terrorist attack in the subway earns eight Port Authority of New York & New Jersey offi cers Top Cop status ■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO ■ PHOTOS BY ED CARATTINI LaGuardia Airport, 1975. World Trade Center, 1993. World Trade Center, 2001. Port Authority officers are innately aware that their job requires them to secure some of the most vulnerable targets for terrorist at- tacks in the country, if not the world. So when Anthony Manfredini witnessed hundreds of panicked civilians running out of a subway corridor between 7th and 8th Streets in New York City during morning rush hour on Dec. 11, 2017, he could sense that it was his turn to run toward the danger. Manfredini radioed for backup, reporting that he was about to respond to an unknown situation underground between Manhat- tan’s busiest subway locations – Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square. Port Authority Officers Jack Collins, Drew Preston and Sean Gallagher were the next to respond to the scene. Smoke filled the underground corridor as debris scattered across the hall- way that had only one way in and out. As the smoke settled and the corridor cleared, the Port Authority officers were able to make out the figure of a body lying in the middle of the scene. “At first, we thought we were receiving gunfire, but then we final- ly realized it was a bomb.” Gallagher described. In that moment, Miriam Rubio, Hector Martinez, Victor Talamini and Anthony Estevez converged on the scene as well. As the dust continued to clear and the Port Authority officers approached the suspect, they noticed that he was suffering from numerous lacera- tions and burns on one side of his body. A closer look revealed wires sticking out from his chest and groin. At that point, the officers recognized that this was an act of terror and hundreds of thousands of lives in Manhattan, including their own, were in serious danger. The actions they each took to execute their training saved the city from another potentially historic in- cident on its record of terrorist acts and earned them recognition as National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) Top Cops. The suspect, 27-year-old Bangladesh native Akayad Ullah, had other intentions for the officers, though, and with the small amount of strength he had left, he began to reach for a cellphone in his waistband. To make matters worse, the officers could hear another subway train pull into the 42nd Street station, unloading another crowd of at-risk civilians onto the nearby platform. Thank- fully, the Port Authority officers closest to the threat were backed up by NYPD Transit, who worked on the platforms above and beside the scene to evacuate the area. While NYPD and other units secured thousands of people and transportation routes in the city, the Port Authority officers under- ground with the suspect knew that they needed to terminate this threat. Gallagher, Collins, Preston and Manfredini closed in on the suspect again, putting themselves at risk to potential additional ex- plosions, and restrained Ullah before he could do any more harm. 32 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JUNE 2018 Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department Lieutenant Miriam Rubio Sergeant Hector Martinez Sergeant Victor Talamini Jr. Offi cer Jack Collins Offi cer Anthony Estevez Offi cer Sean Gallagher Offi cer Anthony Manfredini Offi cer Drew Preston “When you’re put into a situation like that, you can’t think of what the best option is,” Gallagher stated. “You have to go back to what your basics are.” The eight heroic Port Authority of New York & New Jersey officers who saved hundreds of thousands of lives that day stood togeth- er at the 25th Annual NAPO Top Cops Awards banquet on May 14. Their achievement was met by booming applause and a standing ovation in a room filled with Top Cops from across the nation, in- cluding the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded on the night of the mass shooting in October 2017. In making the acceptance speech, Lieutenant Rubio also recognized the other officers who contributed to the successful response. “Obviously when these incidents happen, it’s not just the people being recognized today,” she began. “We have a command that has shown so much dedication and so much bravery. We couldn’t have been successful without them.” Rubio explained that the apprehension of the bomber was the easy part. The harder challenge was evacuating a quarter of a mil- lion people and relocating 1,000 buses from the Port Authority Bus Terminal with only 20 Port Authority officers working that day. One proud supporter standing in the crowd who was not sur