Real Heroes in the Valley Truly Deserve Our Support

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL

February,2008

 Last month the Exchange Club of Lawrence honored police officers, firefighters and an EMT workers for their service to the communities of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover.

Among those honored were Lawrence Police Officer Michael Magnan who received one of the Exchange Club’s “Police Officer of the Year Awards” for saving the lives of Lawrence residents on three separate occasions.

On one occasion, Officer Magnan entered a Lawrence apartment, responding to a domestic dispute only to find himself face to face with a man holding a sword. Though Magnan and other officers commanded the man to drop the weapon he advanced on Officer Magnan making threatening gestures. Magnan did not fire his weapon; instead he used his training and expertise to talk the crazed man into surrendering without anyone being harmed. In another incident, Magnan and Officer Goujon witnessed an armed man trying to stab a Patriot Ambulance EMT. Both officers jump into the fracas and subdued the assailant without anyone getting hurt. In yet a third incident, Magnan responded to a call in December where he had to kick in the door of a man holding a knife to the stomach of woman who was nine months pregnant. Magnan was able to defuse the situation by talking to the man and convincing him to drop the weapon without hurting the pregnant woman or her unborn baby. 

Also honored by the Exchange Club last month were;

Police Officers of the Year

North Andover Police Officers: Katherine Knab, Joe Kamal, Sgt. Charles Gray, K9 Officer “Kyzer”, Inspector Dan Cronin, Mark Wilson, Dan Quinlan and Special Agent Todd Prough (DEA), Andover Police Officer Brian Blouin,

Firefighters of the Year

Lawrence Firefighters; Lt. Erik Zahn, Lt. Tara Reardon and Firefighter Rodney Rivera. North Andover Firefighter Daniel Ryan. Andover Firefighters: Deputy Chief DelDotto, Lt. Mark Conlon, Todd Richardson, Eric Tiechert, Lt. George Milne, Joe Cahill, John Mullen, Thomas Agnew, Cliff Pattullo, Kyle Murphy, Scott Weightman, Jeffrey Condon ad Brian Landry.

These brave men and women, as well as their colleagues in the field of public safety, deserve the support, respect, and thanks from the people of the Merrimack Valley.

And while many of our citizens do understand the sacrifices these men and women make and the dangers they face every day, sadly, there are others who shamefully attack them in the press or grandstand at public meetings advocating public hostility towards those who would so willingly give their lives for every single one of them. 

We at the Valley Patriot are proud of the good men and women who serve as police, firefighters and EMTs across the Valley. 

We also want to thank the wonderful men and women of the Lawrence Exchange Club for honoring them and calling the public’s attention to their bravery and heroism. 

 

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(C) copyright, Valley Patriot, Inc., 2008