Belmont Police, Fire Hand Out Service Awards

The award ceremony conducted for the Belmont Police and Fire departments that was held Wednesday, June 12 at the Beech Street Center, was to honor work conducted by the town's public safety employees through 2012.  

There was, however, "an incident that was so unheralded in the world of law enforcement that the awards committee felt ... those officers who responded deserved to be formally recognized tonight," said Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaacs.

So at Wednesday's ceremony, Belmont Police Lt. Christopher Donahue and officers William McDermott, Matthew Benoit, Matthew Stewart and Alex Cheung were honored with a Letter of Recognition for arriving to "an unimaginable scene" in the area of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street in Watertown in the early morning of Friday, April 19.

Those five officers arrived to "[a] scene were over three hundred rounds had been fired, crashed cars, a wounded MBTA officer and unexploded bombs," then to gather information to apprehend "a terrorist in connection to the marathon bombings in Boston.

When the first calls for help from Watertown dispatcher Phil D'Agostino were received, the Belmont officers "responded without hesitation only asking the question; give me a cross street for Dexter Ave."

And though additional Belmont officers responded as early as 1 a.m., to search yards and vehicles for the suspect, "the Awards Committee would like to recognize those who heard and responded to the first calls for help ..." said MacIssacs. 

"It takes a certain dedication to duty, a love of your fellow officers and an overall commitment to serve to rush into such a fight without thoughts or concern for oneself and family," he said.

The Letter of Recognition was one of several awards presented by Belmont's public safety departments to employees and one civilian for duty above and beyond.

Read the full citations by viewing the pdf files on this Web page.

The Belmont Police Department awards include:

• Pasqual Kloumejian received a Certificate of Recognition for outstanding contribution to crime prevention or community safety by apprehending a suspect wanted for breaking and entering on Sept. 13, 2012.   

• The Barron Family Belmont Police Achievement Award, named in honor of long-time Belmont residents and have been very supportive and appreciative of all the work that the Police Department has been providing to them and the community over the years, were awarded to Sgt. Brendan Young and Officer Cory Taylor.

• The Medal of Valor is awarded to police officers who display extraordinary heroism at imminent risk of serious bodily injury, while demonstrating courage by performing a voluntary course of action in an extremely dangerous situation given to Det. Michael Pugliese and Officers Jonathan Riddell and Franz Strassmann for their actions responding to house fire at 443 School St. on Oct. 26, 2012.

Det. William Regan, then an officer, exemplified these qualities in his actions on Jan. 8, 2012 to calm an out-of-control 26-year-old man to surrender his weapons and took him into custody without further incident.  

• The Meritorious Service Award is awarded to officers for incidents which clearly show an extraordinary level of expertise, thoroughness, conscientiousness or determination. Capt. J. Peter Hoerr and Sgt. Brendan Young, then a detective, were honored with the award for their actions on Feb. 7, 2011 involving a call for a suicidal woman who was threatening to jump off the Pleasant Street bridge over Route 2.  

• Det. Lt. Brendan O’Leary was awarded the Chief’s Commendation for his efforts in leading a major investigation where a Belmont Council on Aging employee defrauded an elderly Belmont resident out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

• Officers Shiraz Banosian, David Pimentel, Cory Taylor and Richard Wright were being awarded the Lifesaving Award for their actions on April 2, 2012 where the officers administered CPR to an unconscious male who was not breathing prior to the arrival of emergency medical services. The victim is still alive and doing well to this day.

The Belmont Fire Department awards include:

• The Barron Award, presented to a member of the Belmont Fire Department annually, was presented to Belmont Firefighter Andrew Goneau for 2012 and the 2013 recipient Lt. Gerard Benoit.

The Barron Award is given to a member of the Department who is recognized by their peers as somebody who is a “good” firefighter and represents the Department and the Firefighting profession well; not necessarily for some heroic act or deed but an individual that may go unnoticed by most but contributes greatly to the Belmont Fire Department.

• The BFD Meritorious Unit Citation, awarded to a specific working group, an individual fire company, or a specific team, for actions that are considered to be meritorious in nature, was presented to the members of Group 4 for their actions at a house fire on Oct. 26, 2011.

"The coordinated efforts and leadership demonstrated by Group 4 are consistent with the highest standards and traditions of the American Fire Service."

Group 4 is Captain David DeMarco, Lt. Steven Whalen, Edward Corsino and Gerard Benoit and Firefighters Robert Fowler, Tracey Mullen, Thomas Biondo, William Kaufman, Christian Tocci, Thomas Biondo, William Kaufman, Christian Tocci, Thomas Deneen and Michael Madruga. 

• The Chief’s Commendation, awarded at the discretion of the Chief for duty or actions by an individual or group, either on or off-duty, that is worthy of recognition and does not meet the criteria for an award of higher precedence, were presented to five members of department: Lt. David Alesse, Firefighter James “Jake” McNeilly and "Group 5"; Lt. Richard Nohl and Firefighters Dennis Maher and Chris Drinan. 

• The Massachusetts Fire Service Awards is given to members of the Massachusetts Fire Service who have reached a minimum of 20 years of service. Three Belmont members received awards for 25 years of service.

Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell

Assistant Chief Angus Davison

Firefighter Michael Reilly