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These accounts of law enforcement officers risking their lives on behalf of public good have been reproduced with the permission of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, an organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifices and heroism of law officers around the country. These men have all been honored with the NLEOMF Officer of the Month award. These gripping accounts not only underscore the dangers of law enforcement work, but also the tremendous courage and commitment to the job, two qualities that have their roots in the honor that accompanies public service.
MAY 2010
On January 21, 2010, Deputy DeGrow was patrolling the area of James Island, South Carolina. Typical of his dedication and thoroughness, he was following up on a residential burglary that he had responded to earlier that morning. When he came upon five subjects walking down the road, they fled immediately upon seeing the deputy’s patrol car.
Deputy DeGrow quickly radioed dispatch and gave chase on foot to one of the subjects, who attempted to evade him by circling a house just off the road. With Deputy DeGrow in close pursuit, the subject circled the house twice. Rounding a corner, Deputy DeGrow was met with gunfire. He was shot once, directly below the right eye, by the suspect who lay in wait with the express intent of ambushing and executing the deputy. Deputy DeGrow immediately fell to the ground, dazed. The subject continued to fire on the downed officer, hitting him twice more in the head, twice in his right arm, and once in the left shoulder. Presumably out of ammunition, the gunman ran away.
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“As I lay there I could feel the presence of God, and I knew in that moment that I was either leaving this earth or staying. I then had a sense that I was going to be all right and started coming out of the daze,” Deputy DeGrow recalled. He rolled to his back, drew his sidearm and quickly scanned the area for the suspect. As he got to his feet, he radioed dispatch again, alerting them that he had been shot and needed medical help immediately. Amazingly, Deputy DeGrow was able to describe the subject who had shot him and informed dispatch that he was going out to the road so that responding officers and medical personnel could find him more easily. Almost passing out a few times on the way back to his cruiser, Deputy DeGrow prayed and kept thinking of his two children.
Officers from the Charleston City (SC) Police Department and Deputy DeGrow’s fellow officers from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office were first to arrive on the scene. Deputy DeGrow asked one of his fellow officers to wipe the blood from his right eye. When it didn’t work he simply said, “All right guys, take my duty belt and my shirt and vest,” as medical personnel were arriving on scene. At the hospital, Deputy DeGrow underwent four hours of emergency surgery to repair the initial damage to his eye. When he awoke, he was surrounded by family, friends, co-workers and supporters.
In the letter nominating Deputy DeGrow for the Officer of the Month Award, his supervisors stated, “His calm demeanor in the wake of this violent assault and despite grave injury is, quite frankly, of legendary proportions. Jeff continued to perform his duties, until responding officers and emergency medical services arrived to take over the hunt for the subject, and begin to treat Jeff ’s wounds. His bravery and courageous action directly affected the swift resolution of the case and subsequent arrest of his attacker.”
DECEMBER 2009
The flags were flying, spirits were high and traffic was bumper to bumper as the citizens of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, converged on the downtown area for their 2009 Memorial Day Parade this past May. Traffic was beginning to back up in all directions as residents made their way to the parade route. Officer John Krahn, assigned to routine parade traffic control, was doing the best he could to keep the vehicles moving until an unintended guest came along: a 94-car freight train barreling down on the crowded intersection.
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With all of the vehicles trying to make their way to the parade, traffic had come to nearly a standstill. As Officer Krahn was directing vehicles through the intersection, the warning lights and gates were activated on the railroad lines in the middle of the intersection. Almost immediately, panic started to set in, as vehicles caught within the railroad gates began scrambling to weave their way off the tracks and around the gates. However, Monica Partenfelder, a mother with her 2-year-old son in the backseat of her minivan, would not be so lucky.
Mrs. Partenfelder began to panic as the seconds ticked away and tried everything she could do to get out of the path of the oncoming train. As she struggled to get out of the way, the tires on her minivan became stuck in the railroad tracks with the front of the minivan facing head on with the multi-ton oncoming train. Witnesses recalled seeing smoke and sparks flying as she tried to free the minivan.
Officer Krahn noticed what was happening and immediately began sprinting toward the minivan screaming for the driver to get out of the car. One witness reported, “At that point I noticed an officer running as fast as I’ve ever seen anyone run, race to the minivan.” The train had begun blaring its horn by the time Officer Krahn reached the vehicle. At the same time, Scott Partenfelder, the father of the 2-year-old boy and Monica’s husband who was following them in a separate vehicle, arrived at the minivan and began working to free the child. Officer Krahn opened the driver’s side door and was able to unlock the frantic driver’s seat belt and get her out of the vehicle. He then began helping Mr. Partenfelder to free the young boy who was still secured in his car seat, risking his life with the imminent impact of the train only seconds away.
The 94-car multi-load train hit the minivan at 40 mph. The brutal force of the impact threw Officer Krahn and Mr. Partenfelder 20 feet through the air, seriously injuring both men. The front of the minivan was demolished as the train pushed it 200 feet down the tracks before finally breaking free and coming to rest on the side of the tracks.
As onlookers ran toward the injured men, Officer Krahn, although severely injured, began yelling for them to check on the child. Amazingly, the child was found to be unharmed in the backseat of the minivan, still in his car seat.
Officer Krahn was transported to the hospital in stable condition, suffering multiple rib fractures, bruising of the lungs, and multiple leg fractures. Mr. Partenfelder was also taken to the hospital in critical condition. Both men recovered and were heralded by the community as heroes.
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A few weeks after the incident, Officer Krahn spoke for the first time publicly about his ordeal. He talked about his injuries and how he had become close to the Partenfelder family which had been instrumental in his recovery. He also expressed his appreciation for the incredible amount of support from everyone throughout the process.
Officer John Krahn, a father himself, knew the dangers involved but chose to act above and beyond the call of duty in his actions to rescue a mother and her young child. He is a 17-year law enforcement veteran and continues to serve with the Elm Grove Police Department.
SEPTEMBER 2008
“When lives are at stake, America’s first responders do not hesitate to rush directly into harm’s way. We do our jobs, searching for, rescuing, and aiding victims regardless of what unseen dangers and health hazards await.” Such was the testimony of 22-year veteran Detective Tom McHale of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department before a Congressional Subcommittee. Few in law enforcement history can match the bravery and determination of Detective McHale whose specialties include solving homicides and fighting terrorism both at home and abroad.
Just seven years after joining the Port Authority Police Department, Tom McHale had his first encounter with terrorism on February 26, 1993, when he was critically injured in the first bombing of the World Trade Center. His heroic efforts during the event, and his investigations afterward, gained him the World Trade Center Individual Acts of Valor Medal and within two years he was assigned to the FBI’s elite Joint Terrorism Task Force. So respected would he become within the law enforcement community, that in May 2001, he was also co-assigned to the NYPD Major Case Squad specializing in cold case homicides of fallen police officers.
Three weeks later, NYPD Detectives were investigating an allegation of the sexual molestation of a twelve-year-old. Although the detectives had found an unregistered handgun in the suspect’s apartment, he was extremely cooperative during the interview, had been steadily employed for the past 18 years and on the surface, seemed the model citizen. But, the detectives were sure that something was amiss. Why would this gentleman begin rattling off names of former members of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), an ultra-violent splinter group connected to the Black Panthers? Having never heard of the BLA, the detectives did not know that during the early 1970s this home-grown terrorist organization had been responsible for killing and wounding more than two dozen police officers, including Atlanta Police Officer James Richard Greene. Officer Greene had been shot and killed execution style on November 3, 1971. According to Atlanta police, the two gunmen wanted to ingratiate themselves to leaders of the BLA by killing a cop.
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It was suggested that the young detectives connect with Detective Tom McHale who had previous experience working on BLA cases. Detective McHale contacted the Atlanta Police Department and the FBI field office and opened a case that had sat cold for thirty years. The team interviewed multiple eyewitnesses and eventually found someone who was able to identify one of the murderers of Officer Greene from a photograph. Few were surprised that the murder suspect was the same person held in the New York molestation case. Despite changing his name and starting a new life, thirty years later the BLA member was extradited to Georgia and was convicted of Officer Greene’s murder.
Nine months later, on September 11, 2001, Detective McHale responded to the World Trade Center along with fellow members of the Major Case Squad. While his rescuing efforts were underway, Detective McHale and his team narrowly escaped when the second tower collapsed. He never left the site that day and for the next ten days he was on full-time assignment at Ground Zero as part of the Port Authority Rescue and Recovery Team. Even after he was ordered to return to work with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Tom McHale returned to the World Trade Center site each evening. As a member of the Ironworkers Union Local 45, Tom McHale volunteered a full shift to assist his fellow ironworkers in their recovery and clean-up efforts. He spent countless hours cutting through steel and recovering remains. He maintained this grueling schedule until the end of January 2002.
In January 2002, Detective McHale and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force were sent overseas to continue the search for Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda network. In roughly two months, Detective McHale and his team accomplished miracles. He was instrumental in locating several Al-Qaeda safe houses, identified a possible suicide bomber, and responded to a bombing at a church that took the lives of several people, including two Americans. Before returning to the United States, the detective and his team worked side by side with Special Forces units in Afghanistan to discover a biological weapons factory.
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Back in New York, Detective McHale resumed his grueling schedule working a full shift with the Joint Terrorism Task Force followed by a full shift with the Local #45 team. In late May 2002, the honor of cutting down the last steel beam at the World Trade Center was given to Detective McHale in gratitude of his selfless dedication to the more than 2,975 people murdered on September 11th.