| As the days get shorter, I want to make mention of highlights of this past August. Congratulations to my brave friend and training teammate in NewRo Runners and proud New Rochellian, Caroline Plank. I have bragged to many of you about Caroline and about how she was able to fulfill her dream of running the New York Marathon — at an outstanding pace for a relative newbie to long distance running –after recovery from a double mastectomy at age 28. On August 4th, I had the honor of attending her marriage to Trevor Banks at Holy Family Church in New Rochelle. Her inspiring story was covered just this past week on CBS News. Despite some additional medical setbacks Caroline continues to improve as a long-distance runner and committed role model and spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Legislator Terry Clements and I teamed up with our friend Det. Terence Fudge, a long-time member of both the New Rochelle community and the police department, to get free ice cream for kids at the NRPD Police Night Out event on Aug 6th.I also had a great time earlier that evening, eating more ice cream at an another event at Swirlnjoy in Tuckahoe called “Cone with a Cop.” Little did we know how big a difference this small police force would make just few days later. I want to congratulate the Tuckahoe Police Department and, shown to my far left, Lt. Andrew Zirolnick, for the swift and effective police work of his unit, especially by P.O. Evan Piasta, leading to the arrest of Dr. Matthew J. Bonanno. This arrest led to the removal of an arsenal of unlicensed weapons from our community that included 5 assault rifles, fully loaded with high capacity magazines, handguns and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition. Click here for LoHud news story. Finally, on the Saturday morning at the end of the month, I had the privilege of participating in the unveiling of the stone memorial honoring Detective Christopher Ridley of Mt Vernon PD, who was killed by County Police in a case of mistaken identity in January 2008. Click here for LoHud news story. Just across the street from the County Office Building, the memorial is steps away from where Det. Ridley, a 23-year old African American who was off-duty and in civilian clothes at the time of his intervention to save a stranger from being beaten up. I was able to speak with the family before official ceremonies and they think the words of the memorial bring out his essence and honors him as a fallen hero, risking all to save a fellow human being, and alluding to the special dangers to a man of color. At the unveiling, Detective Ridley’s parents had the bravery and strength of character to pay this eloquent tribute to their fallen son:“I hope this monument can teach others that when you do something do it unconditionally. Today we are here to honor my son, a brother and a fallen officer who did his job fearlessly and unconditionally.” – Felitia Rucker Bouche, mother of Det. Ridley “Christopher’s memory is one of the many great contributions that will come out of Mount Vernon’s community. He may no longer be ours, but now his memory belongs to this world.” – Stanley Ridley, father of Det. Ridley |