Westfield Officer Honored For Helping Secure Murder Convictions

WESTFIELD, NJ — An officer with the Westfield Police Department is being honored for his work combating auto thefts that also led to three murder convictions.

Detective Sergeant Piotr Wierzbicki is the latest recipient of the Department's Medal of Merit. The award recognizes a member on the team "for an act of distinguished meritorious achievement."

On March 8, 2021, Wierzbicki led a multi-agency operation in response to a BMW that was stolen from a home along Barchester Way. This directly led to multiple arrests of suspects who were involved in the shooting death of 22-year-old Dedric Bracey in Newark earlier that day.

The three men had been following Bracey before stopping the stolen car and firing 13 shots at him. Officials were able to track the vehicle in Irvington later that day.

The men tried to run away before State Police were able to take them into custody. On July 2, all of the individuals were convicted of murder after all pleaded not guilty.

Tyshon Armour, 23 of Newark, Reynold Henderson, 23 of Irvington, and Issad Jackson, 26 of Irvington, were all sentenced on Sept. 12 to 60 years in state prison. The three men must serve 85 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole due to New Jersey's No Early Release Act.

Detective Sergeant Wierzbicki's actions and courtroom testimony played a major role in their conviction, Westfield Police say.

"Unknown to them at the time, they were confronting some armed and extremely dangerous persons," Chief Christopher Battiloro adds. "They were, in fact, stone-cold killers who had just callously committed a crime of the first degree...premeditated murder."

Beginning in 2020, Detective Wierzbicki was separated from his role with the Westfield Police Department to move full-time into aiding the New Jersey State Police Auto Theft Task Force (ATTF). In addition to supporting their overall efforts, he had a focus on vehicle thefts in Westfield.

There were 28 vehicle thefts in Westfield in 2021. This was the most ever on record.

Thanks to Wierzbicki and others, 26 of the 28 stolen vehicles were recovered. The property accounted for a total of $1.3 million in value.

Chief Battiloro calls his work "exemplary," and goes to show how "day in and day out, today's law enforcement officers face a multitude of unknown risks in the performance of their duty."

This year, there have been only three vehicle thefts in Westfield. Battiloro says this is possible because of the actions of Detective Sergeant Wierzbicki who act, "with great courage and at tremendous personal risk."

Westfield remains the only Union County law enforcement agency to have assigned an officer to the ATTF.

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