Crime & Safety

Hynes Honors Recipients of Law Enforcement Appreciation Award

Honorees include members of NYPD who protect Windsor Terrace, Ditmas Park, Kensington and Prospect Heights.

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes today announced the recipients of his 23rd annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Awards at Brooklyn Law School, honoring officers who go above and beyond to protect communities in Brooklyn.  

Twenty members of the New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, Kings County District Attorney’s Office, New York City Department of Correction, New York State Unified Court System, and the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association were recognized for their bravery, diligence, dedication to the job and involvement in the community.  

"The officers recognized at today’s ceremony are extraordinary men and women who represent the best law enforcement officers in the country," Hynes said. "They play a significant role in keeping Brooklyn safe, sometimes risking their own lives in the process. I am proud to honor these outstanding officers.”

This year's award recipients included Police Officer Michael Rodrigues from the 77th Precinct, which covers Prospect Heights, was instrumental in taking down a violent street gang called the Brower Boys. Fourteen members of the gang were arrested and subsequently indicted on charges including conspiracy, assault, burglary, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon and are currently awaiting trial. 

Between April 2011 and March 2012, the gang burglarized numerous apartments, stealing electronic equipment that they would then pawn to local bodegas and stores that would pay them in cash. Most crimes took place when residents were not home, but there were instances in which the gang members would commit more violent crimes when people were at home.

Officer Rodrigues conducted a detailed investigation, creating an alias on Facebook and Twitter, and “friended” some of the Brower Boys, recording many of their posts, pictures and Youtube videos. Some of their posts would include boasts of their criminal activity. In one incident, four members of the gang committed a violent home invasion. They entered the home with their faces covered with ski masks or bandanas, and tied up a male and female resident. Then they each sexually assaulted the female resident while she was blindfolded, with her arms and hands bound.

Officer Rodrigues was able to link that crime to at least two of the Brower Boys based on comments that were posted on Facebook. Those four defendants were apprehended shortly after the incident. Using social media, Rodrigues was able to demonstrate the existence of an agreement in order to prove the elements of a gang conspiracy, showing their association with each other and their criminal intent.

Rodrigues was also able to use video surveillance to gather evidence of the defendants committing their crimes.  Since the takedown, burglary in the 77th Precinct has gone down nearly 60 percent.  

Also honored were Lieutenant Joseph Smith, Sergeant Phillip Berfond and Police Officer Dale Stone, three NYPD Transit Bureau officers from Transit District 34, which includes Ditmas Park. On October 29, 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, Smith, Berfond and Stone rushed to Coney Island to help three fellow officers whose patrol van was unable to move and became submerged in rising flood waters.

They broke the front passenger window of the van and got the three officers onto a rowboat. As they began to row away,  they noticed six people and a dog stranded on top of several vehicles. They rescued one of the people and waited with the rest until more help arrived from their Transit District. Smith, Berfond and Stone were taken to Maimonides Hospital for hypothermia, but made a quick recovery.

Auxiliary Deputy Chief Anthony Christo of the 66th Precinct, which covers Kensington, also was honored. Christo began his volunteer service as an NYPD Auxiliary Police Officer in December 1972, citing a desire to "serve as the eyes and ears of the NYPD." Christo received many promotions, beginning in 1975 when he was promoted to Auxiliary Sergeant, up until 2001, when he was promoted to his current rank of Auxiliary Deputy Chief. He works with uniformed officers in the recruitment and retention of Auxiliary Officers in Brooklyn South, which currently maintains the largest auxiliary membership, citywide. Christo has also assisted in deploying Auxiliary Officers to high crime areas, sensitive locations, houses of worship, Prospect Park and the Summer Concert Series.  

Detective Mike Cleary, known as the “Sheriff of Windsor Terrace,” retired  from the police force this past March after 22 years on foot-patrol duty, serving the community in the 72nd Precinct. Cleary was born and raised in the neighborhood he was later charged with protecting, and took a special interest in helping troubled kids. Instead of arresting kids for graffiti, he would make them wash their tags off with hot water and write essays about what they did wrong. He once brought a local teacher’s daughter home after catching her drinking in a park with other kids, instead of arresting her.
 


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