Twp. Commends Police For Heroic Acts

Seven of members were honored by the township committee Monday night for their heroic acts involving two traumatic incidents earlier this year.

On Wednesday, March 30, police were dispatched to a home where a , sustaining head injuries. Patrol Officers Susan Gilligan and John Lee, along with Sgt. Brian Szymanski were dispatched to the scene and made the first response.

The Long Valley First Aid Squad also responded to the scene and the toddler, Jack Gumersell, was transported via helicopter to Morristown Medical Center.

Just 11 days later, on April 10, .

Patrol Officer Adam Feichter was the first on the scene, and conducted CPR on the toddler. Feichter was joined soon thereafter by Sgt. Earl Barnes who assisted. The Long Valley First Aid Squad also responded to the scene.

“Your commitment and allegiance to this town is extraordinary,” said Mayor Ken Short. “Your actions have saved lives. While we highlight these two incidents in particular, we know you deal with these things very often, and we thank you for that."

Short recognized the department members, in addition to communications officers James Smith and Raymond Stackhouse, with letters of commendation for their response time and actions in those events.

“We’ve dropped 10 officers from the department over the past 10 years or so,” Short said. “But I believe the level of service has only become greater.”

Further exemplifying the heroic job done by the department, after Short asked about the status of the children, Feichter reported that both toddlers are now “100 percent” healthy.