PERTH AMBOY – Firefighter Javier Cruz (L) with NJ Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) State Chief Resiliency Officer, Training & Outreach Liaison David S. Leonardis (R). Note the amount of equipment that may be needed on a emergency call.
*Photo by Carolyn Maxwell
Dorothy Carty-Daniel, who has been a longtime parishioner of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, put together a very moving program in order to honor First Responders. It was held at St. Peter’s Church on Sunday, October 30, 2022 and was hosted by Dorothy Carty-Daniel. Along with help from the Office of the Mayors of Perth Amboy and Woodbridge, the Pipes & Drum of the Jersey Shore, Abundant Life Worship Center of Perth Amboy, and other parishioners of St. Peter’s Church.
Dot Daniel held up a picture of the late Police Officer John Stumpf who she remembers when she was young who always made sure that she crossed the street safely. She had two of her relatives walk down the center aisle so everyone could see the Police Officer’s photo.
Sheriff Mildred Scott spoke about how she was inspired by Officer Walter Gibson (affectionately known as Gibby) who was the first Black Police Officer in Perth Amboy. She stated that she is a first-generation officer in her family. She spoke about the day she never forgot when she held a dying girl in her arms.
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. talked about his dad, who was also a police chief.
The person who really caught my attention who spoke was David S. Leonardis, who is from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. He recalled when he first came to Perth Amboy, it happened to be National Night Out. He was very impressed on how the First Responders interacted with the community.
Leonardis had a 30-year career with the New Jersey State Police. He was also an arson investigator in that department. As he talked, he had some equipment that he brought up front. He said depending on the type of investigation, First Responders may have to carry a certain amount of equipment. The type of investigation may require equipment that may weigh up to 70 pounds or more.
What people often forget is that there is a lot of emotional weight that is carried. A friend of his took his own life because of the weight of the stress. He also talked about how as a young detective; he had a mentor who died in a gun battle with a domestic terrorist. It was stressful for him to work on that case for three years. He hated Fridays because it took away two days that he could not investigate the case.
He also talked about his stepson who is also a police officer who was going through a very difficult time. His stepson was seeing a psychiatrist who talked about everything except what was bothering him. One day, he stated that he was going to call him, but didn’t get around to it. That was the day his stepson committed suicide. He stated that his son told him later that they were worried whenever he was quiet.
He explained that he ran the State Police Academy for a while and won many awards from the Governor’s Office. He spoke about always being focused on taking care of the community instead of ourselves. For every police officer who died in the line of duty, there are twice as many who committed suicide after leaving the force.
On November 11th, I attended the Veteran’s Day Ceremony held at the American Legion in Perth Amboy. For some reason, the words that Leonardis spoke stayed in my head. There are a lot of First Responders who have served in the military (active and retired) and all I could think about is the emotional stress that they go through.
Personally, I want to thank all of our First Responders and Military Personnel for their service and remember, in order to help others, you have to take care of yourself first. C.M.
