Mayor Honors Newton Officer Who Wrestled Knife Away, Saved Clerk

NEWTON, MA — The mayor and chief of police gave a special recognition Thursday to the off-duty officer who happened to be in the right place at the right time and rushed to the aid of a store clerk last month, stopping masked man wielding a knife from robbing the store. They also recognized the store clerk, for his help calling 911 and keeping the would-be thief from leaving.

Lt. David Tempesta was in the back of the Corner Mini Mart on Border Street about to get a scratch ticket before his afternoon shift, when a man in a black mask walked into the market. Tempesta heard the man yell at the clerk to open the register, exchanged a surprised look at owner of the market, Charlie Patel, then saw the man waving a large knife and step behind the register.

In security footage you can see Tempesta assess the situation, approach the man in the mask who has his head down and is digging through money at the register. Tempesta draws his gun and orders the man to drop the knife. When the man in the mask turns to leave Tempesta tackles the masked man, (stashing his gun behind the counter), asks Patel to call 911, and with the help of Patel and from bystanders, keeps the masked man from leaving the shop until backup arrives.

The whole event took seconds.

"Seemed like a long time," said Tempesta to laughter Thursday in the mayor's office as Mayor Ruthanne Fuller sang his praises in front of colleagues, friends and family.

Fuller described Tempesta, who has been on the force for 35 years, as a calm, respected leader with a good poker face.

Tempesta, a regular at the market around the corner from the police station, said he often brings Patel a cup of Dunkin coffee when he visits the shop on his way to work.

Patel said he considers him a friend. And, in this case, he was an answer to prayer.

"He's my heart," Patel said, placing his hand to his chest.

The mayor and the chief of police both praised Patel for staying calm, too and for his help, calling 911, and helping keep the masked man from leaving.

"This is a dangerous world and to lend the assistance that Charlie did is an incredibly brave thing," said Chief David MacDonald, congratulating the clerk for his part.

Tempesta told Patch in his 35 years on the force, he'd never been in the same place as an attempted crime such as this was happening.

"Some things in your career you don't forget. I'll never forget this," Tempesta said.

And neither, likely will the chief of police, who also praised Tempesta, noting that although he now worked mostly in an administrative position, the Lieutenant's training shined and the whole scenario could have ended very differently.

"This was an incident that could easily have turned into a lawful and justified police shooting. I mean, very easily," said MacDonald. "Many people in the public don't believe there's such a thing as a lawful and justified police shooting. We are under the microscope regardless of how lawful and justified these actions are so to have someone with Dave's experience in that store at the time was literally a Godsend. because of the way it turned out. Dave showed above all - that our priority - not just Newton police - but our priority is preserving and saving human life. Life's unpredictable even in the city of Newton, and we're lucky to have the staff we have."

Police arrested Thomas Paul Zekos, 30, of Shrewsbury on Dec. 3. in connection with the armed robbery. Zekos later pleaded not guilty in court to armed robbery, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. Zekos told the court he was struggling with drug addiction.

Previously:

Man Threatens Newton Store Clerk With Knife, Officer Thwarts ..(Dec. 9)

Off-Duty Newton Police Officer Stops Armed Robbery (Dec. 12)

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).