Top Pops
Family affair adds to Top Cops honor for
Hamilton Township Local 66 members
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY ED CARATTINI JR.
The reverence of being named a National Association of Police
Organization (NAPO) Top Cop exuded from the smile on 4-year-old
Alexandra Rettzo as her daddy hoisted her up while she showed off
his police hat. Alexandra’s daddy, Richard, and his Hamilton Township Local 66 traffic detail partner Devin Hendricksen, realized the
ultimate reward of being honored as part of the NAPO’s annual
awards for law enforcement’s best of the best during National Police
Week in Washington, D.C. And here it was wearing a pink lace dress
and big brown eyes.
When Alexandra’s mother, Denise, asked her if she was proud of
daddy, she shyly shared, “Yes, because he’s a hero.”
Amidst 39 other officers from 11 other states, the District of
Columbia and Federal and International agencies – and some of
television’s top cops, including Nick Vera from Cold Case (Jeremy
Ratchford), Detective Abigail Baker from Blue Bloods (Abigail Hawk)
and Captain Victoria “Iron” Gates from Castle (Penny Johnson) –
Rettzo and Hendricksen felt the hero worship from those who mattered most in a roomful of law enforcement and stars.
More than a year after ending the threat of a son trying to stab and
kill his parents, Hendricksen shared what has mattered most in the
aftermath.
“I’ve always spent a lot of time with my family,” he confided. “I
spend even more time now. That’s the first thing that was on my
mind after it happened, thinking about my family.”
So it was extra special that Hendricksen brought his wife Debbie,
and daughters Lindsay, 15, and Alyssa, 10, to D.C. for their first visit
to Police Week. Likewise for Rettzo with Denise and Alexandra. And
it was equally rewarding to walk through the National Law Enforcement Memorial and see the notes and signs left by the names of fallen officers inscribed on the walls.
“Every time I saw something that read ‘from your daughter’ or
‘my dad is my hero,’ I just lost it,” Debbie Hendricksen revealed.
Added Devin: “She cried all the way through it.”
Sur-reality has been accompanying Rettzo and Hendricksen
since that April 1 night of 2015. Rettzo said he heard they were nominated to be NAPO Top Cops, but didn’t really focus on it. They had
already earned bronze medals at the NJ State PBA Valor Awards in
November. And to be named Honorable Mention Top Cops award
winners was more than they could have imagined.
“When we received the letter in the mail, it was like, ‘wow,’” Hendricksen expressed.
So it’s been a whirlwind, as would be expected when the incident
is so violent and so desperate that you each have to fire a shot to
keep a son from murdering his parents. Perhaps being at Police
Week, getting to see the Memorial, the oh-so-inspirational Candlelight Vigil and in a ballroom with the other Top Cops helps to put the
confrontation in perspective, if not behind them.
Richard Rettzo with his 4-year-old daughter, Alexandra, at the NAPO Top
Cops Awards in Washington, D.C.
From left, Hamilton Township Local 66 Officer Devin Hendricksen,
daughter Alyssa, wife Debbie and daughter Lindsay.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 52
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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JUNE 2016
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