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Penn. cops honored for outstanding service

By Len Barcousky
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH — Ross Patrolman Barry Clifford is as relentless as a hound dog on a scent when he gets involved in a case, police Chief Ralph Freedman said.

Officer Clifford’s investigative efforts and neighborhood patrols around York Drive led to the arrest of two burglary suspects in August 2007, Chief Freedman told commissioners.

The officer was among 18 Ross police officers given public commendations Nov. 10 for “outstanding service to the community” at a municipal meeting.

“You close the cases -- you solve the crimes,” commissioners President Daniel DeMarco told the officers.

The meeting room at the municipal center was decorated with red, white and blue balloons for the ceremony, which honored police for their efforts in a dozen cases since July 2004. Family members and friends applauded as Chief Freedman presented framed citations.

An investigative team of Sgts. Robert Martin and Samuel Comport and Officers Donald Dreier, Lawrence Wagner and David Young undertook surveillance on several Ross businesses in July 2004.

Their efforts led to the arrest of an armed robber who admitted to a half-dozen crimes in Ross, McCandless, Shaler and Bellevue, Chief Freedman said.

Officer Wagner, often in plainclothes, made 15 arrests for drug-related activities at a local hotel during the second half of 2005. Mr. Wagner would, on occasion, wear a wig to disguise his appearance, the chief said.

Officer Michael Kirtley was honored for his discovery of illegal drugs during a traffic stop in August 2005.

Two officers were commended for their efforts in saving lives. Patrolmen Warren Lillie and Jason Syska administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used automated external defibrillators in separate emergencies.

In March 2006, Officer Lillie assisted an unconscious woman who had stopped breathing. In May 2007, Officer Syska came to the aid of a 65-year-old man whose heart had stopped beating. Both recovered.

Officer Michael J. Thomas assisted McCandless police following a bank robbery in November 2006. The suspect he arrested on McKnight Road ultimately was linked to 16 robberies, Chief Freedman said.

Patrolman Robert Zegar made a traffic stop in July 2007 on Ivory Avenue, near the township’s border with Pittsburgh, that led to the arrest of the driver. He was a convicted felon who was being sought on other charges and he was carrying a weapon in the vehicle.

Another case in July 2007 brought together three sergeants who arrested a man police said was threatening to harm police and himself. David Syska, Joseph Ley and Albert Hribik took the man into custody without injury to anyone. Police found a gun, ammunition and knives in his car.

One month later, Patrolmen David Eckels, Joseph Serowik and Mark Wuycheck investigated a financial fraud case that solved 11 burglaries.

In October 2007, Officers Thomas, Syska and Clifford arrested two suspects in multiple fraud cases involving materials worth more than $50,000.

Officers Joseph Lamonica, Zegar and Thomas and Sgt. Ley took into custody a man armed with a knife who had been calling on police to shoot him.

The officers kept the man “away from open businesses as well as the general public,” Chief Freedman said of the incident in November 2007. The man was arrested with no one being harmed.

Copyright 2008 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette