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Special Agent
Joseph Fredericks
Special Agent Paul Kovach
Railroad Police of
New Jersey Local 323
Valor Awards
Dynamic duo to the rescue
Add Joseph Fredericks and Paul Kovach to the list of
storied duos in the
annals of law enforcement.
They went to the academy together. After graduating, they went
to work together at the Seaside Heights Police Department. And
they matriculated to the Railroad Police of New Jersey, working
midnights and teaming together to cover the entire state on their
shift.
“Every time we’re on duty together, we run into something,”
Fredericks revealed.
So they probably weren’t surprised about what happened early
on the morning of Feb. 21, 2016.
Kovach and Fredericks were looking to meet up on their break to
get something to eat when they saw a car crashed into a guardrail
on the New Jersey Turnpike near Lyndhurst.
“We were just driving past and up there you see a lot of abandoned cars that get stolen and crashed and stuff like that,” Kovach
explained. “So we passed it and the front end was all bashed in. I
thought the car was stolen. I thought the hazard lights were on because underneath the car, you saw a flickering of orange. But then
Joe said, ‘No, dude. The car is on fire.’”
Fredericks and Kovach doubled back and found the driver
slumped over the front seat. Fredericks tried to get in through the
doors. Kovach pulled his baton and broke the window out.
As they pulled the driver out of the car, the engine compartment
burst into flames. They managed to drag him 100 yards away and
call 9-1-1 to get help for the man who had a broken leg. Later on,
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they found out the victim was an off-duty Jersey City law enforcement officer.
“It’s nice to think about that we made a difference in someone’s
life, and him being a cop is icing on the cake,” Fredericks commented.
After receiving the lifesaving award, Fredericks and Kovach assessed the response and agreed that their training made the difference in being able to save a life. But it might have been more than
that.
“We did what we had to do without saying a word to each other,”
Fredericks noted.
Added Kovach: “I was just on autopilot, then afterward, we’re
driving back to the office, and he’s like, ‘Holy crap, dude, we just
saved the guy’s life.’ I said, ‘You’re right, we did.’ You don’t even realize what you did until you sit down and think about it later. It was
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Crash and Burn
In the early morning hours of July 1,
East Orange Local
16 member Aziaha
East Orange Local 16
Palmer observed a
vehicle entering the
city at a high rate of speed. Turning on the patrol car lights, Palmer
quickly realized this was going to be one of those “there’s no regular
traffic stop” calls when the subject attempted to flee.
During the chase, the driver blew through several red lights. At
one light, the subject driver had to avoid hitting a crossing vehicle,
which caused her car to spin out of control and crash into a hospital.
“There was leakage from the impact, and once I saw that, I already knew the car was going to burst into flames,” Palmer accurately recognized. “I immediately reached out for extra units.”
The first arriving backup officer, Local 16 member Robinson
Kenold, came on scene and assisted Palmer in attempting to remove victims from the burning car. Due to tinted windows, the officers did not know how many people were inside or if any were
armed, but their lifesaving instincts outweighed the risk to their
own lives as they attempted to gain access to the victims.
“During a critical moment like that, I just fall back to my training,” the two-year veteran Palmer noted. “I just realized this is a
time I need to perform.”
Fighting against doors that had been damaged upon impact,
Officer Aziaha Palmer
Officer Robinson Kenold
Palmer opened the rear door while Kenold worked the driver’s door
closest to the fire.
“The car was burning and about to explode, and the driver was
trapped and started crying, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna die. Get me out
of here!’” Kenold related. “My cop instinct just kicked in and I went
out there and dug her out.”
In about two-to-three minutes, four occupants aged 20-25 years
old were rescued, including one who had suffered a broken leg.
“This is what I signed up for,” Palmer expressed. “Since I was
younger, I always had the passion for helping people, and knowing
that I could do it as a police officer is a great feeling. It’s a feeling I
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www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ DECEMBER 2016 59