Portland Press-Herald
PORTLAND, Maine — Three South Portland police officers were honored Wednesday for their bravery in defusing a potentially deadly standoff last summer involving a suspect who allegedly was threatening to blow up an apartment building in a densely populated neighborhood.
The medal of bravery – one of the department’s highest honors – was awarded by Police Chief Edward Googins to Rocco Navarro, Theodore Sargent and Andrew Nelson during a ceremony at the South Portland police station.
The 2008 South Portland public safety awards ceremony recognized a number of employees, including police officers and dispatchers, for their oustanding work on a variety of cases, from finding a missing person to preventing a suicide.
The Medal of Bravery is given to a police officer or officers who, when placed in danger, perform a service that goes beyond the normal call of duty.
“We are often criticized for what we do, but there is a lot of real good police work going on that you just never hear about,” said Lt. Christopher Cook, who was acting as shift commander on the night of the standoff.
Police said the three officers responded to 201 Elm St. on the night of June 28 after receiving a report of a vehicle that had crashed into a building.
A man, later identified as Neil Rich, 46, of South Portland, reportedly fled the vehicle and ran across the street to the home of a relative.
When police tried to get Rich to come out, he allegedly threatened to blow up the officers and the apartment building.
Cook said the officers smelled a chemical accelerant and evacuated the apartment building at 200 Elm Street.
The Pleasantdale neighborhood is heavily populated, with several apartment buildings, houses and a church nearby.
The standoff worsened when Rich came out of the building holding a knife in his hand, police said. One of the officers used a Taser to subdue Rich.
“It was an incident that went particularly well,” Cook said.
Rich was treated at Maine Medical Center, where he was charged with operating after suspension, leaving the scene of an accident and terrorizing.
Copyright 2009 Portland Press-Herald