...and I'm not talking about their ratings for high school athletes.
Meet Our 2006 Police Officer of the Year
Pray for the cops who stand between you and the bad guys. Pray for their families. (Cops get divorced. A lot.)
One of Philadelphia's finest is this year's winner.
‘‘I Could Hear Them Screaming’’
Officer Robert Wuller was driving alone in his patrol car last April when his radio crackled to life. Within minutes he was at an apartment building in North Philadelphia, where he could hear a woman and child screaming. What Wuller did next would change his life.
For his quick thinking and decisive action, Officer Wuller, 30, has been named Police Officer of the Year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and PARADE. He and 10 honorable mentions from around the country will be recognized next Tuesday in Boston at the IACP’s annual convention.
“The doors were locked, and I could hear screaming and blows being struck,” Wuller recalls. “I was pushing buttons, but nobody would open the door.” A man rushed down the stairs but covered his face and raced out the back. Wuller called in a description and that suspect was apprehended a few blocks away.
As backup arrived, Wuller broke the glass door and ran upstairs. “I could hear two men inside saying, ‘Where’s the money at?’” Wuller recalls. “I kicked the door in, and there was a masked man. I turned to the guy, and he turned on me with a revolver.” Another intruder was on the floor, repeatedly stabbing a victim bound in duct tape. “As I was firing at the first guy, the other guy came running toward me with a knife.” Wuller fired 10 shots from his Glock 17, then retreated.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t hear any shots go off,” Wuller says. “It was just total silence and then, once everything cleared up, it was louder again. It was something I never experienced before.”
A nine-year veteran of the force, Wuller has five previous merit citations, ranging from apprehending suspects in a homicide and catching robbers to helping rescue an elderly woman from a blaze. “I’ve had many close encounters,” Wuller says, “but I never discharged my weapon before.”
When the SWAT team arrived moments later, the victim of the stabbing lay in a pool of blood on the floor. He was bleeding badly, but he was alive. His girlfriend and two children also were rescued from the apartment. Both of the robbers Wuller shot died at the scene; each had an extensive rap sheet for prior offenses.
“He did an amazing job,” says Capt. Deborah Kelly, who nominated Wuller for the award. “They were less than 10 feet away, and both were armed. It was very close quarters, and he got both of them down.”
Shortly after 3 a.m., Wuller called his wife, Terri, who burst into tears. “She’s a very strong woman,” Wuller says. “When I got home, I hugged her and I hugged my kids, and told them all I loved them.”
This June, Wuller, Terri and the kids—Robin, 8, Nicholas, 5 and Joshua, 3—went to Disneyworld. While there, a friend called to say that Wuller had been transferred to Traffic, a position for which he had previously applied. Maybe it’ll be a little safer.
Honorable Mentions
Officer John Angle
Mobile, Ala., Police Dept.
Officer Angle, 39, pursued two burglars who shot at him 27 times with a high-powered rifle before they finally surrendered.
Officer Gregory Durr
Chicago P.D.
Durr, 36, was getting a haircut when an armed robber entered the barbershop. Durr shot him in the arm to end the holdup.
Sgt. Michael A. Lewis, Ret.
Maryland State Police
Sergeant Lewis, 42, uncovered $25,000 and hundreds of pounds of drugs, leading to the arrest of 17 suspects.
Officer Jason P. Oakes
Wilmington, N.C., P.D.
Oakes, 27, saved his wounded partner by fighting hand-to-hand with a violent suspect who had escaped from prison.
Officer Frank Tolerico
Fontana, Calif., P.D.
Bleeding badly from a gunshot to his neck, Tolerico, 43, drew his own weapon and killed a dangerous gang member.
Officer William Bergantino
Old Saybrook, Conn., P.D.
Bergantino, 32, shielded his wounded sergeant from a violent assailant at a hotel, then shot the suspect as he tried to escape.
Detective David Harris
New York City P.D.
Shot six times by a crazed gunman destroying a public statue, Detective Harris, 41, fired back and disabled the suspect.
Officer Holly Mong
Richmond, Tex., P.D.
Holly Mong, 23, a rookie cop, was headed to work when her car was hijacked. She shot two gunmen; a third suspect was captured later.
Detective Gustavo Sanchez
Miami Beach P.D.
After hearing a radio alert while off duty, Detective Sanchez, 40, rushed to a beach and saved a young woman caught in a riptide.
Sgt. Kirk Van Orsdel
California Highway Patrol
Responding to a road rage call, Sergeant Van Orsdel, 43, forced a motorist armed with an AK-47 to surrender.
Police Officer of Year 2005
Police Officer of Year 2004
Police Officer of Year 2003
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