2016 NJSPBA
Valor Awards
M
Family Matters
Gloucester County Local 122 members William Opdyke and
Ryan Wells have a new cautious respect for family feuds following a Sept. 8, 2015, encounter in a residential trailer.
Responding to a report of a physical altercation between an
adult male and a 15-year-old girl, the patrolmen arrived to find
a father restraining his hysterical and physically combative
daughter on the floor, and quickly separated them. Freed, the
teen rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a large steak knife,
which she wielded at the officers and her father while screaming, “I want to kill you!”
“She had to go through me first to get to (her father),” Opdyke
announced as he drew his weapon. With every intention of resolving the encounter peacefully, he maintained the discipline
learned in his 10 years of service by keeping his finger “easy” on
the trigger.
Wells, standing behind his partner in the confined space,
shouted, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!” as they worked to
curb the situation.
“She continued forward, but within a matter of seconds, she
cooperated with us,” Wells described. “She dropped the weapon and we de-escalated the situation to where no harm came
ice
erito
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Patrolman William Opdyke
Patrolman Ryan Wells
Gloucester County Local 122
to anyone.”
The officers restrained the girl and removed her from the
premises as they contemplated the successful call.
“We’ve had similar cases before, but nothing like that,” Opdyke emphasized. “But just being stern and communicating
with her and telling her what her options were made the difference.” d
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