South Orange Police Chief Kyle Kroll and Detective Steven Davenport were honored for their bravery in pursuing and capturing an armed man allegedly responsible for the robbery of a fast food delivery worker, at the annual 200 Club of Essex County’s Valor Awards.
SOPD Chief Kyle Kroll and Det. Steve Davenport
Kroll and Davenport received the awards, along with 17 police officers and 12 firefighters, at the 50th Anniversary of the event, held Thursday at Nanina’s in the Park in Belleville.
“It was a great honor; I really felt proud to be among the other honorees,” said Kroll in a phone interview with The Village Green.
Also honored were police officers and firefighters from Irvington, Newark, North Caldwell, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Institute of Technology Police Department. (See below for full listing of honorees.)
NYPD Dep. Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller was Guest Speaker, and former 200 Club President Arthur S. Guida received the organization’s McLaughlin Award.
Following the armed robbery of a fast food deliveryman on July 25, 2015, Det. Davenport was able to identify a suspect. A week later, Davenport along with Chief Kroll and other plainclothes officers tracked the man to a Smith Street address in Newark.
The man was walking on the street when Davenport and Kroll approached him. After they identified themselves as police officers, the man ran from the scene and the two pursued him through backyards and over fences.
Kroll reached the man first and tackled him as he was allegedly pulling a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from his waistband. “It was surreal, like a movie,” Kroll said. At one point, the man had the gun a foot away from Kroll, who was able to push the gun away and then hold the man down so he couldn’t reach for the Chief’s weapon.
Davenport reached the scene and he and Kroll arrested the man. A follow-up investigation revealed that the weapon had been previously used in a homicide and two additional shootings. The case has not yet gone to trial.
After the incident, it took a while to sink in that he had come very close to being gravely injured, Kroll said. “In the moment you’re trying to react and not think. Once you have a chance to reflect, you think, ‘Wow!'”
Dep. Commissioner Miller told attendees at the lunch that police officers and firefighters run to things that other people run from, and that’s what makes their profession great.
“I’m proud to be a part of it,” said Kroll.
Sheriff Armando Fontoura, SOPD Chief Kyle Kroll, Det. Steven Davenport, South Orange VP Sheena Collum, Business Admin. Barry Lewis, Jr. and 200 Club President Lori Hennon Bell.
On hand to congratulate the brave officers were Sheriff Armando Fontoura, South Orange Village President Sheena Collum, Business Administrator Barry Lewis, Jr. and 200 Club President Lori Hennon Bell.
Founded to assist the families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, the 200 Club of Essex County has raised nearly $2 million to support the spouses of fallen officers and to fund scholarships for their children through membership dues and the annual luncheon.
“The job of a police officer or firefighter is tougher today than ever before,” said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, a member of The 200 Club’s board of trustees, in a press release about the event. “Law enforcement and firefighting are extremely hazardous professions which are performed at tremendous personal risk. The work of The 200 Club of Essex County is greatly appreciated by the entire public safety community and their families.”
Nominations for The 200 Club’s Valor Award are made by chiefs of Essex County’s municipal fire and police departments and the commanding officers of federal, state and regional public safety agencies. Valor Award recipients are selected by The 200 Club’s Executive Committee.
This year’s individual Valor Award recipients are:
Newark Police Sergeant Matthew Ruane, Newark Police Detectives Ana Colon and Tyrell Wheeler, Essex County Sheriff’s Detective Abdullah Holmes and NJIT Police Sergeant Antoine Hughes for the capture of two armed suspects who opened fire on them on a city street;
Newark Police Dets. Juan Ramos and Wyhidi Wilson for the capture of an armed suspect;
Newark Police Det. Glen Calderon for single-handedly capturing two armed suspects during a robbery in progress;
Irvington Police Patrolman Edward Pearce for single-handedly capturing a gun-wielding suspect;
New Jersey State Police Detective II Anthony Giunta, Detective II Edward Schmalz and Trooper Blazej Oczkos for the capture of a kidnapping and attempted murder suspect and the rescue of the three-year-old victim;
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Detectivs Eric Manns, Carlos Olmo and Kenneth Poggi for the capture of two homicide suspects;
South Orange Police Chief Kyle Kroll and Detective Steven Davenport for the capture of an armed robbery suspect;
North Caldwell Fire Lieutenant Lee Sutherlin and Firefighter David Hicock for successfully evacuating a large residential complex and the rescue of an unconscious 88-year-old female victim during a natural gas leakage event;
Newark Fire Captains Delfin Ortiz and Mark Furka ad Firefighter Derek Hunter for the rescue of three adults and four children from a residential fire;
Newark Fire Captain Frank Fonseca and Firefighters Michael Bellina, Tony DeFeo, Carlo Dello Russo and Carlos Henriques for the rescue of an unconscious pregnant female and her two unconscious children from a residential fire;
And, Newark Fire Captain Carl Wendt and Firefighter Raymond Hatton for the rescue of three children from a residential fire.
