Troopers from Troop E Receive Service Awards

State Police Troopers from Troop E in Montville and civilians from Eastern Connecticut received awards for service during a ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, at the Connecticut State Police Training Academy in Meriden.

Twice a year, the Connecticut State Police honors Troopers who demonstrated exceptional service in the line of duty.  The ceremony also honors men and women serving in local and federal law enforcement agencies and those serving as first responders, as well as civilians.  Award winners received medals and certificates from Department of Public Safety Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle and State Police Colonel Edward Lynch.

Awards are presented in several categories, including:

*      The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to any person who renders service with a high degree of alertness, perseverance and superior judgment in the performance of a difficult task resulting in the protection of life, recovery of property, the prevention of – or solving of – a major crime or the apprehension of an armed or dangerous person.

*      The Lifesaving Award is presented to any person who saves a human life or makes a valiant attempt to save a life.

*      The Outstanding Service Award is given to any person who successfully performs an extreme, complex or difficult investigation. The person also may demonstrate exceptional skill or ingenuity in the apprehension of a wanted person, provide outstanding service to the public and or continuously achieves excellence in performance of duties over an extended period of time.

*      The Unit Citation is awarded to members of a department, a command or group who combine their resources to achieve success in an investigation or event. The citation recognizes exceptional collective efforts.

      Troop E barracks of the Connecticut State Police, located in Montville, is proud have several individual award winners from the troop.   

East Lyme Police Officers Eric Holt and Kenneth Mellor On February 16, 2006, East Lyme Police Officers Eric Holt and Kenneth Mellor were advised that a man was on the railing of the Niantic River Bridge.  Officers Holt and Mellor found a man sitting on the top rail with both legs hanging over on the waterside of the bridge. The man was intoxicated and distraught, telling the officers that he planned to jump.  Officer Holt was able to take hold of the man.  Officer Mellor climbed on the railing to help the man and the man made a forward motion towards the water.  Officers Mellor and Holt in one movement pulled the man down to safety.  They received Lifesaving Medals.

      Trooper First Class David Hayes On February 9, 2006, Troop E received a report of a missing elderly woman in Montville.  The victim was last seen riding horseback out of a stable.  Two hours later, the horse returned to the stable with no sign of the woman.  Due to the extreme cold temperatures and rough terrain, a coordinated search of the area was initiated and included Trooper First Class David Hayes and his K-9, Trevor.  Trooper Hayes and Trevor located the victim on a riding trail in a heavily wooded area.  The woman was in a semi-conscious state with a head injury and hypothermia.  Trooper Hayes provided first aid to the victim and summoned EMS personnel to evacuate her to a medical facility.  Trooper Hayes received a Lifesaving Award.

Sergeant William Bohonowicz, Trooper Martin Sullivan and Trooper Craig Fox, Dispatcher Mark Walker On June 26, 2006. Dispatcher Mark Walker received a 911 call from a male experiencing difficulty breathing and unable to communicate.  Dispatcher Walker used the computer’s GPS locator until the victim’s cell phone was located.  Sergeant William Bohonowicz, Trooper Martin Sullivan and Trooper Craig Fox responded to the victim in his vehicle. He was in serious medical distress and went into cardiac arrest.  Troopers utilized all lifesaving techniques until medical professionals arrived and transported the victim to the hospital. All four received medals for Lifesaving.

Trooper First Class Stowell Burnham On July 21, 2006, the State Police Canine Unit was called to search for an elderly man who was missing from an assisted living facility in Waterford.  The victim had several medical issues and the area around the facility is heavily wooded and remote.  Trooper First Class Stowell Burnham and his K-9 Grizz searched the area around the facility and located the victim more than a mile away. The victim lay face down in the heavy brush area, where he had fallen hours earlier; he was experiencing serious medical issues and has lost his shoes, glasses and walking cane. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Trooper Burnham received a Lifesaving Award.

Troopers Timothy Bettencourt, Brian Kilcomons and Joyes Narcisse On March 8, 2006, Troopers from Troop K responded to a residence in Lebanon, where a man was holding his estranged wife at gunpoint.  The man discharged the handgun, striking the female victim’s vehicle. After physically assaulting the victim, the suspect stole her vehicle and fled the residence still armed with the handgun. Troopers Timothy Bettencourt, Brian Kilcomons and Joyes Narcisse located the suspect in Salem.  He was armed with a loaded handgun, brass knuckles and a quantity of cocaine.  After a brief standoff with the suspect, the Troopers took him into custody without incident. The Troopers were presented with Meritorious Service awards.

Det. Joseph Masson, Det. Theodore Parker, Det. John Patterson, Det. Richard Pasqualini, Sgt. John Rich, Sgt. Paul Gately, Trooper Wilfred Blanchette  Over several months last fall, the Town of Ledyard experienced five armed robberies.  The robberies involved the use of, or threatened use of, a deadly weapon.   Detectives assigned to the Eastern District Major Crime Unit at Troop E, the Ledyard Resident Trooper’s Office and the Ledyard Town Officers investigated these crimes.  One of these incidents involved the kidnapping of a victim at gunpoint by three suspects. Investigators located all three armed and dangerous suspects and arrested them without incident.  The weapon used in the crime was recovered, along with items stolen from the victim.  All five of the robberies were complex investigations requiring the systematic processing of the crime scenes, analysis of evidence and detailed interviews of witnesses and suspects.  In addition, the investigation tied two of the suspects to two additional armed robberies in the towns of East Lyme and Groton.  The detectives, sergeants and trooper who worked on this case all received awards for Meritorious Service.

Trooper First Class Timothy Conderino On March 26, 2006, Troop E received numerous reports of a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on I-95 Northbound near exit 91.  Trooper First Class Timothy Conderino observed the vehicle traveling south in the northbound lanes.  He stopped his assigned vehicle, deployed stop sticks and signaled traffic behind him to stop.  Trooper Conderino determined that the southbound vehicle’s speed was excessive and that its momentum would likely cause a collision with the civilian vehicles behind him.  He re-entered his vehicle and positioned it to protect civilian traffic.  The wrong-way vehicle then struck Trooper Conderino’s cruiser and stopped in the right lane.  Despite being injured in the collision, Trooper Conderino arrested the operator, who was driving under the influence.  Trooper Conderino’s prudent judgment and courage led to the apprehension of the operator, who would likely have caused injury or death.  He received a Meritorious Service award.

Trooper First Class Sean Velazquez & Trooper First Class Scott O’Donnell On January 12, 2006, Troopers from Troop E responded to Montville to locate a suspect wanted by the Waterford Police Department for a domestic violence incident.  The suspect was wanted for multiple charges, was in possession of a shotgun and had threatened to harm himself and anyone who encountered him.  Trooper First Class Sean Velazquez and Trooper First Class Scott O’Donnell observed the suspect vehicle on Route 32.  They attempted to stop the accused who suddenly stopped his vehicle on a side street.  The Troopers ordered the suspect out of the vehicle, but he failed to comply.  They observed the barrel of a shotgun inside the suspect vehicle. Troopers O’Donnell and Velazquez rapidly approached the vehicle and subdued the subject without further incident.  Troopers O’Donnell and Velazquez earned awards for Meritorious Service.

Trooper Jonathan Baker During calendar year 2005, Trooper Jonathan Baker led all sworn members of the Department of Public Safety with a total of 91 arrests for Driving While Intoxicated.  Working in the Southeastern section of the state, Trooper Baker’s diligence and commitment in the area of DWI enforcement has made a significant impact on the problem of drunk driving and has made the streets and highways of Connecticut safer to travel. Trooper Baker earned a Meritorious Service award.

David Lee, Jake Fox and Robert Bridgman On Friday, June 2, 2006, David Lee, Jake Fox and Robert Bridgman, all high school seniors, were fishing off a sandbar adjacent to the runway at Groton Airport.  The weather was overcast and foggy, with visibility less than 500 yards. The young men heard jet engines as a plane tried to make its approach to land. The plane struck pylons and came to a rest upside down in about 12 feet of water.  David called 911 and all three teens used their boat to reach the downed plane. As they cut through water filled with jet fuel, three survivors from the plane managed to escape the aircraft. The survivors appeared to be in shock.

The teenagers pulled the survivors into their boat. They took the boat to the closest dock and flagged down rescue vehicles that were arriving. The teens carefully transferred the survivors into the care of first responders. The teens received the Trooper James W. Lambert Award. The award is given to a Connecticut resident under the age of 21 who exhibits exceptional courage and swiftness of action, regardless of his or her own personal safety, in an effort to save the life of any person in danger.

         Cindy Legaspi On July 22, 2006, Mohegan Sun Surveillance Officer Cindy Legaspi observed a man who matched a photo of an unidentified suspect who committed an armed robbery in Rhode Island.  Ms. Legaspi notified the Connecticut State Police Casino Unit, who identified the suspect as the perpetrator of the bank robbery and the suspect was taken into custody. Ms. Legaspi was presented with a Commissioner’s Recognition Award.

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