WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A group of uptown police officers responsible for saving a drowning jet-skier and busting a man with 20 pounds of heroin this summer have been honored for their heroics.
Eight members of the 34th Precinct were awarded certificates of appreciation from Manhattan Community Board 12. The officers were recognized for rescuing a jet skier who was swept under the Columbia boat dock and for arresting a man who was in possession of 20 pounds of heroin.
Police officers Richard Natal, Byron Polster, Cleavens Duchatelier, Michael Walsh, Stephen Schoefer and Juan Ramos were honored during the board's monthly meeting, along with Detective Carmelo Santana and Sargeant Brian Holshek.
Duchatelier, Walsh, Schoefer, Ramos, Santana and Holshek were praised by NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly on Aug. 10 when they arrested a man who had 25,000 glassines of heroin in the trunk of his car on West 207th Street and Sherman Avenue. The drugs had a street value of $750,000.
Natal and Polster rescued the jet skier rescue two weeks later, using CPR to resuscitate the man after he had been trapped under the dock near Inwood Hill Park for several minutes on Aug. 21.
CB12 chairman George Fernandez thanked the officers for their service before handing them the awards, saying that they should be commended for doing dangerous "G.I. Joe stuff" to keep the community safe.
"I was touched to know that our men in blue continue to sacrifice themselves for our residents," Fernandez said.
