Bulletin Notes
Law enforcement officers are challenged daily in the performance of their duties; they face each encounter freely and unselfishly while answering the call to duty. In certain instances, their actions warrant special attention from their respective departments. The Bulletin also wants to recognize those situations that transcend the normal rigors of the law enforcement profession.
In the dawn hours one Saturday morning, officers from the Mahwah Township, New Jersey, Police Department were dispatched to the site of a collision between a car and a tractor trailer. When they arrived on scene, they found the driver of the passenger vehicle—which was quickly becoming engulfed in flames—trapped and unconscious. The truck driver and witnesses had unsuccessfully tried to rescue the injured man.
Acting swiftly, Lieutenant Michael Blondin and Officer Christopher Lupo freed the driver and helped him to safety, just as flames reached the passenger compartment. They immediately commenced medical care. Officers Connor Gilgen, Ryan Moore, and Christopher Minchin tried to extinguish the fire before turning to assist Lieutenant Blondin and Officer Lupo.
As the officers stabilized the injured driver, the fire began to spread to the tractor trailer’s contents—a load of lumber.
Fire personnel arrived and extinguished the blaze. The unconscious driver was transported to a local hospital.
Lieutenant Michael Blondin
Officer Christopher Lupo
Nominations for the Bulletin Notes should be based on either the rescue of one or more citizens or an arrest(s) made at unusual risk to an officer’s safety. Submissions should include a short write-up, a separate photograph of each nominee, and a letter from the department’s ranking officer endorsing the nomination. Submissions can be emailed to leb@fbi.gov.