Mick McHale and Biden
stopped a kidnapper biking away with a terrified 4-year-old girl,
Biden noted, “When that little girl was rescued, she went home and
she said, ‘Daddy, daddy, guess what? The bad guy took me out of the
house, but the police saved me.’” The audience erupted with
applause.
He praised cops for acting without hesitation in recognizing
LAPD Officers Alberto Ortiz and April Lockhart who put down an
assassin that attacked cops in their police station. He inspired
another ovation by bursting with pride when announcing how taking a bullet couldn’t stop Indianapolis Metro Police Officer Greg Milburn or Corpus Christi (Texas) Senior Officer Amador Gonzalez or
NYPD Officers Ken Healey, Taylor Klein, Joseph Meeker and Peter
Rivera, who took down a hatchetwielding attacker.
Biden built to a big finish when
he cited how West Palm Beach
Officer Christopher Nebbeling
used the same bravery that earned
a Bronze Star for his military service in Afghanistan to stop a mass
shooting in Palm Beach. And then
the Vice President sent up these
words that all cops needed to hear:
“You’re defined by your
courage and redeemed by our loyalty. You are a rare breed. And
thank God for all of you.”
Biden would have stayed for
another hour to take pictures and
shake hands, as Kovar explained
he did when speaking to the annual NAPO Conference a few years
back. But he knew the night
belonged to the Top Cops, and the
30 women and men who earned
the distinction furthered the feeling
Christopher Nebbeling
the Vice President talked about when
they accepted their awards.
After the banquet, however, even the Top Cops were buzzing
about the Veep.
“In my 15-plus years with NAPO, I never had the amount of officers and family members stop me and tell me their appreciation for
the Vice President as there were tonight,” said NAPO President Mick
McHale. “He represented correctly to the men and women we were
honoring tonight his true understanding of what we do, and where
many officers feel the administration may not have their interests
at heart. I believe he met those concerns and showed there is
somebody we can count on.” d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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JUNE 2015
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