JOB WELL DONE
Ortiz feels
the rush
Quick work of
NJ Transit Local 302 member
pulls man off track as train
approaches
n BY NICK SWEDBERG
Officer Victor Ortiz knows each stretch of track that runs through
the Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station. He has spent 16
years as a New Jersey Transit law enforcement officer and member of
Local 304 and is acutely aware of which tracks run express and what
times of the day are the busiest times for the hub.
When Ortiz found himself standing over a man during the
morning rush on Aug. 24 who refused to move after lying down on
the tracks, he looked up and instantly realized exactly what was coming.
“Once I saw a train on that track, I knew it was going to barrel
through,” the 42-year-old officer from Union said.
Ortiz said he had “tunnel vision” after he cuffed the right wrist of
the 59-year-old New Jersey man screaming that the wanted to die. All
he could think about was pulling the man to safety.
The heroic rescue caught national news attention. CNN featured
Ortiz in a September news story. New Jersey Transit security camera
footage shows Ortiz dragging the man away from the tracks seconds
before a train races through the station, and the video went viral.
For his efforts, Ortiz was awarded a medal by the mayor of Secaucus and received the Medal of Valor from
the Hudson County Chiefs of Police. NJ
Transit Local 304 President Charles
Phillips said he wasn’t surprised Ortiz
responded the way he did.
“He’s always out to help people,”
Phillips expressed. “Honestly, he went
above and beyond here.”
But, it wasn’t until after Ortiz saw the
video of his heroic save that he realized
how much he and the man had been in
danger, Ortiz said.
The incident started when the man
got on the train at Elizabeth Station and
was headed to New York, Ortiz explained.
The man had been harassing customers
about getting a ticket. After the train
pulled into Secaucus, the conductor
requested assistance to deal with the
“moody passenger,” Ortiz added.
NJ Transit Local 304 member Victor Ortiz receives a proclamation and
medal from the Secaucus mayor for his heroic efforts that saved a man
lying on the track moments before a train came through.
The man became irate when Ortiz arrived and started yelling
about not wanting to go to jail. The officer found out later the man,
who had prior drug convictions, was headed to New York to pick up
medication. Going to jail meant the man wouldn’t have access to the
medicine, which “helped him function,” Ortiz said.
Fearing jail, the man eventually bolted from Ortiz and jumped
down from the platform to track level. Ortiz followed to where the
man had laid down on the track. Ortiz secured the handcuffs on one
wrist, but was struggling to get them locked around the other.
“At which point, I looked up and saw a train on that track,” Ortiz
said.
Ironically, Ortiz wasn't even scheduled
to be there, at the right place at the right
time. He was actually scheduled to be on
vacation.
"Despite working his regular 10-hour
midnight shift, Officer Ortiz was ordered to
work the early shift due to manpower
issues," Local 304 State Delegate Gerald
Dalessio noted. "He didn't let the unexpected situation deter him from doing his
job. Like the professional he is, Vic
answered the call of duty and saved a life
while almost having his taken while doing
so. The members of NJ Transit Police take
great, great pride in being there for the citizens of New Jersey, and I can only hope
that the public views Vic's heroic actions
and see that this is what police officers are
all about." d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
n
OCTOBER 2016
45