‘Wish it was a better outcome’
Hamilton Township officers forced to shoot attacker
Officers Devin Hendricksen and Richard Rettzo are self-described
low-key guys who simply come to work, report for duty and do their
jobs each day. But on April 1, 2015, the two officers were dispatched to
a stabbing in progress and were forced to put their training to the test.
Arriving on scene, they were waved down by a blood-covered female
in front of the residence to which they were responding.
“I’ve been on jobs before that were bad, but never to this extreme,”
Hendricksen said.
The woman informed the duo her husband was still inside with her
adult son, who was armed with a knife. Hendricksen and Rettzo entered
the home and observed a male victim lying on the kitchen floor,
covered in blood. The son was kneeling over the victim, stabbing him
in the back.
The officers told the son to drop the knife, but he refused, and they
acted knowing the victim’s life was in imminent danger. Both Hendricksen and Rettzo fired their weapons, killing the attacker.
The parents survived.
Hendricksen said it is an honor to receive the award, but it wasn’t
expected.
“We just go to work each day and do our job(s),” he said.
Rettzo said it is hard to describe because it all happened so fast.
“I wish it was a better outcome for everyone involved at the home
and I hope to never be in that situation again,” he confessed.
BRONZE MEDAL OF VALOR
OFFICER RICHARD RETTZO
OFFICER DEVIN HENDRICKSEN
‘I … stopped the threat’
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP LOCAL 66
Off-duty Nutley officer subdues knife-wielding attacker
A morning coffee run by Nutley Police Officer David Strus proves
when you wear a badge, you never know when you’ll have to jump
into action.
That was the situation for Strus in April 2015 when the 20-year veteran decided he would break his usual routine of brewing coffee at
home and, instead, grab a cup while taking his wife’s car in for service.
He was at a Clifton doughnut shop for coffee when he noticed a couple of men talking before a third man joined in. As Strus began to
leave he heard screaming and saw one of the men attacking the
others with a knife.
“I thought they were just fooling around. It got very hairy,” Strus
recalled. “I saw the knife coming up and I did what I had to do. I
wasn’t expecting it, did not anticipate it and lost a cup of coffee in the
process.”
Strus identified himself as a law enforcement officer and physically
went after the suspect. He subdued the man until Clifton police
arrived on scene. The stabbing victim died of his injuries.
“Looking back, it could have been me. I didn’t have a shot. I had
pedestrian traffic and the guy was on top of the victim,” Strus said,
noting he still took his wife’s car into the shop after the incident.
He also planned to go in for his usual 4-to-midnight shift, but was
told to take the day off. Strus said the situation is par for the course
when it comes to the life of a law enforcement officer.
“It says we’re never really off. This is what we signed up for, and
that’s what people probably need to realize – when 911 rings, we
answer,” he explained.
Strus modestly suggests he did what the job asks of him, even if it
all occurred in his hometown while off duty.
“This didn’t happen where I work; this happened where I live. I was
BRONZE MEDAL OF VALOR
OFFICER DAVID STRUS
NUTLEY LOCAL 33
doing what we do,” Strus said. “I had one save and one loss. I wish I
had two saves, but I also stopped the threat.”
As for receiving the Bronze Medal of Valor, Strus said no officer,
including himself, goes out to work looking to be recognized.
“This isn’t me, but I graciously accept