Oxford Police, EMT Earn State Awards

The following information is contained in a news release from the Connecticut Department of Public Safety.

Members of the Oxford Resident Trooper's Office and an Oxford EMT earned recognition medals for outstanding service at the Connecticut State Police Academy in Meriden. 

Twice a year, the Connecticut State Police honors Troopers who demonstrate bravery and outstanding service in the line of duty. The ceremony also honors men and women serving in local and federal law enforcement agencies, those serving as first responders, and civilians. Award winners received medals and certificates from Commissioner Reuben Bradford and State Police Colonel Danny R. Stebbins. 

Awards were presented in five categories:

• The Medal for Bravery is awarded to a Trooper who demonstrates exceptional heroism in the performance of duty while exposed to life-threatening danger.
• The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to those who render service with a high degree of alertness, perseverance and superior judgment in the performance of a difficult task resulting in the protection of life, recovery of property, the prevention of – or solving of – a major crime or the apprehension of an armed or dangerous person.
• The Lifesaving Award is presented to those who save a human life or make a valiant attempt to save a life.
•  The Outstanding Service Award is given to those who successfully perform an extreme, complex or difficult investigation. The Trooper may demonstrate exceptional skill or ingenuity in the apprehension of a wanted person, provide outstanding service to the public and/or continuously achieve excellence in performance over an extended period of time.
• The Unit Citation is awarded to members of a department, a command or group who combine their resources to achieve success in an investigation or event. The citation recognizes exceptional collective efforts.

Awards were presented to the following local first responders:

Trooper First Class Michael Dyki of the Oxford Resident Trooper's Office:

On Oct. 2, 2010, at 9:15 p.m., the Waterbury Police Department broadcast the news that officers were searching for a vehicle wanted in connection with a shooting.  Trooper Dyki took a post on Route 8 in Seymour and, several minutes later, he spotted the suspect vehicle.

Trooper Dyki followed the vehicle – remaining undetected by the suspects – in an effort to avoid a pursuit and reduce any risk to public safety.  The vehicle exited the highway and pulled into a gas station, where two males exited the vehicle and entered the building.  Trooper Dyki moved into position, and when the males exited the building, he took them into custody at gunpoint just as backup arrived.  A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded semi-automatic pistol.  According to Waterbury Police, shell casings from the same type of pistol were found at the shooting scene.  It was later learned that the men were responsible for two separate street robberies in Waterbury. 

Trooper Dyki earned an Award for Meritorious Service.

Oxford Resident Trooper Sgt. Daniel Semosky & Sgt. Robert Boroski:

 On Jan. 12, 2011, at 10:23 p.m., a woman called Troop A reporting that her friend ran from her home in Oxford because her husband had been drinking, was out of control and was destroying their house.  The caller was extremely concerned about the friend’s husband and the potential violence.

Troopers, including Sgt. Daniel Semosky, were dispatched to the scene of the Oxford house.  They set up a perimeter around the home and tried to contact the husband by telephone.  Troopers observed an individual in an upstairs bedroom window throwing things against the wall. 

Sgt. Robert Boroski responded to the victim who was at her friend’s home.  The victim stated that her husband had loaded firearms in the house. Sgt. Boroski used the victim’s phone to speak briefly to the husband and convince him to surrender, but the irate husband refused and demanded that the police leave his home.  The man then abruptly terminated the conversation. 

Sgt. Boroski returned to the Oxford home, where Sgt. Semosky attempted to contact the husband.  Sgt. Boroski was in contact with the victim and her friend who reported that they received text messages from the husband which included suicidal statements.  The stand-off continued until 3:40 a.m. the next day, when the husband exited his residence and surrendered.

Sgt. Semosky and Sgt. Boroski are commended for their superior judgment and perseverance in ending a five-hour standoff and apprehending the accused man.  They each earned an Award for Meritorious Service.

Oxford Resident Trooper Josef D’Uva & Oxford Resident Trooper Sgt. Daniel Semosky:

On Jan. 14, 2011, at 11:34 a.m., Troop A received a 911 call regarding a disturbance at an Oxford home which included a handgun.  The victim reported that her former boyfriend came to her house, was extremely confrontational, restrained her, assaulted her and struck her in the face while armed with a pistol.  The suspect then fled the home with the victim’s grandmother’s funeral urn.

Sgt. Semosky called the suspect on his cell phone, but the man refused to surrender or cooperate with the State Police.  Sgt. Semosky and Trooper D’Uva responded to the suspect’s residence in Oxford.  The Troopers learned that the suspect had a long history of resisting arrest and that this residence was the scene of a past stand-off with the State Police.

Trooper D’Uva and Sgt. Semosky approached the suspect’s residence using trees and snow piles for cover.  The Troopers quickly secured the startled suspect and took him into custody.  His loaded pistol was found and secured, as were two rifles.

The quick and decisive actions of Trooper D’Uva and Sgt. Semosky prevented this suspect from retrieving his loaded weapons, and arming and barricading himself in his home.  Each Trooper earned an Award for Meritorious Service. 

Oxford Corporal James Burr & Oxford EMT April Brooks

On Nov. 17, 2010, a teen driver was traveling on a road in Oxford with three passengers when he lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a slight curve in the roadway.  The vehicle spun out of control and completely severed a wooden utility pole.  The vehicle caught fire due to the significant damage.

The driver and two passengers exited the vehicle; however, a third passenger was unable to exit due to serious injuries, including a compound fracture of her left femur.  Off-duty Oxford EMT April Brooks responded to the crash and was able to pull the passenger from the vehicle. Corporal Burr also responded and, upon seeing the imminent danger the burning vehicle presented to both the injured teen passenger and EMT Brooks, he lifted the injured passenger while EMT Brooks stabilized the girls’ head and neck.  Together, they slowly moved the injured girl to safety away from the extreme danger of the now fully-involved car fire.

The girl suffered both a fracture to her neck and to her left femur. Without the immediate and timely assistance of both EMT Brooks and Corporal Burr, the passenger would not have been able to free herself from the burning vehicle 

Oxford Corporal Burr earned the Lifesaving Medal; EMT Brooks earned the Commissioner’s Recognition Award.

Oxford Trooper First Class Ryan Pfeiffer, Oxford Officer Luke Ramirez   

During the month of January 2011, Trooper Pfeiffer and Officer Ramirez of the Oxford Resident State Trooper's Office demonstrated outstanding service with the arrests of five individuals on numerous charges.

On Jan. 18, at 2:31 a.m., Trooper Pfeiffer and Officer Ramirez responded to a burglar alarm at a local pharmacy, where they found the front door smashed open and $1,500 worth of prescription medication stolen. They began searching the area and notified additional Troopers and surrounding towns about the incident.  An hour later, three suspects were apprehended and arrested.

On Jan. 27, at 12:15 a.m., Trooper Pfeiffer and Officer Ramirez were patrolling Oxford during a heavy snowstorm when they observed a suspicious vehicle parked near a fenced-in area of a commercial business.  The vehicle operator was wearing a ski mask and there was a large spool of copper wire in the vehicle.  The Troopers stopped the vehicle and removed two individuals from it. The suspects had $2,000 worth of copper wire belonging to a utility company and had damaged the fence of the facility while committing the larceny.

The immediate response of these Troopers resulted in the felony arrests of five suspects who were also suspects in incidents in neighboring towns.  They each earned an Award for Outstanding Service.

On Sept. 28, 2010, at 9:15 a.m., Southbury Officers and Troopers from Troop A responded to a Southbury residence for a report of a suicidal male.  At the residence, the man charged out the front door holding two steak knives to his throat.

The man then retreated back inside behind the glass front door still holding the knives to his throat.  The man continued to disappear back into the house and then reappear behind the front door holding the knives and acting very disturbed.  Family members stated that the man wanted to commit “suicide by cop.” 

Two teams of Troopers and Officers were assembled and, when it appeared the man was disoriented and no longer paying attention, entry was made through the front door.  The knives were secured and the man was taken to a local hospital.

Troopers and officer from Troop A earned the Unit Citation Award.