Several Newark First Responders, Mayor Being Honored for Courageous Acts in 2012

Dozens of Newark police officers and firefighters, as well as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, will be honored at the 200 Club of Essex County’s Valor Awards Luncheon May 9 at Mayfair Farms, 481 Eagle Rock Ave. in West Orange. The event begins at 11:30 am.

Tickets for the annual 200 Club Valor Awards luncheon are available at $75 each.  For more information and to purchase tickets call 973-694-4982.

Founded in 1966, the 200 Club of Essex County, consisting of regional business and civic leaders, raises funds for the families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. The group has raised millions for the cause.

This year, 32 local law enforcement officers and 12 local firefighters -- most from Newark -- will be recognized for bravery, dedication to duty, courageous vigilance and selflessness during the valor awards luncheon, which will feature FBI Special Agent In Charge Aaron Ford, head of the bureau’s Newark Division, as the principal speaker.

Among this year’s awardees are Mayor Cory Booker, who will receive a Citizen Recognition Valor Award. On April 12, 2012, Booker, along with Alex Rodriguez and Santos Duran, Newark police detectives on Booker’s protection detail, returned to Booker’s Hawthorne Avenue home and saw a neighboring residence engulfed in flames.

All three entered the residence to assist, with Rodriguez and Duran helping first-floor residents escape while Booker ran up to the second floor. Upstairs, Booker heard the cries of a woman from her bedroom and ran to her, picking her up and carrying her out of the building. The woman suffered burns and smoke inhalation but survived.

Also being honored May 9 is Detective Lamin Baryoh of the Newark Police Department. On Nov. 20, 2012, Baryoh and other officers were patrolling near Frelinghuysen Avenue and Foster Street, a known drug-trafficking area, when they witnessed three men huddled together.

Spotting the police, the men separated and Baryoh left his vehicle to investigate. As he approached one of the men, Baryoh noticed he was holding onto something tucked in his waistband, prompting Baryoh to order him to stop. The man instead ran, turning onto Whittier Place with Baryoh in pursuit. The man then pulled a Taurus semi-automatic handgun and struck Baryoh with it. Fearing for their lives, Baryoh and the other officers opened fire, fatally wounding the suspect, who was later found to be carrying 10 vials of crack cocaine. 

Editor’s note: Over the next few days, Patch will publish descriptions of the other valorous acts for which Newark first-responders are being honored this year.