Hospital police were honored inside of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, formerly known as Coney Island Hospital, on Tuesday afternoon for helping defend staff and patients in life and death situations.
Members of the hospital police on patrol at city-owned and operated medical centers are not equipped with any weapons; they are forced to deal with threats using only their bare hands and their training
In one incident, Stephen Cummings, a police officer at the hospital, says he was left in a bloody brawl after a patient assaulted a nurse.
“He got very irate, challenged us, and tried to punch us. Well, he punched me in the nose,” Cummings said. “He punched me in the nose once or twice. Blood was everywhere. I didn’t know it was my blood. My coworker was like, somebody’s bleeding.”
Cummings and fellow cops were ultimately able to apprehend and subdue the suspect. In another incident, officer Freddie Slayton said he had to think fast on his feet and administer Narcan to save a woman’s life who was experiencing an overdose.
“I was notified by central to go down and check in the bathroom. I went inside and I saw a patient on the floor unresponsive,” Slayton recalled. “I Narcanned her and we brought her to the ER to save her life.”
Because of stories like these, Slayton and Cummings joined 28 others on May 20 inside South Brooklyn Health Hospital, where they were recognized for their contributions to both staff and patients. Chief of Hospital Police Vincent Martinos, a former Brooklyn detective, handed out the awards to his staff.
For Martinos, the awards exemplified not only the dangerous situations they were forced to confront but also the immeasurable acts of tragedy they helped prevent.
“Police work’s a funny thing. There’s no way you can measure how many crimes you prevented; we can only measure what happened, but we can’t measure what we stopped, so there’s no data on that. The only way to measure that is to see how safe the building is, and one of our main priorities is making the building safe,” Martinos said.
One by one, each of the 30 officers was honored with a certificate and a rousing round of applause. FDNY EMTs and police officers from the 60th precinct and Patrol Borough Brooklyn South were also celebrated due to their ongoing partnership.
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kaz Daughtry told amNewYork that he is proud of the agency’s accomplishments and the impact they have had on the lives of others.
“Every day, our first responders put themselves in harm’s way to protect New Yorkers — and too often, that heroism goes unrecognized. I appreciate NYC Health + Hospitals South Brooklyn Health for honoring the incredible bravery and quick thinking of the H+H Police, FDNY, and NYPD,” Daughtry said. “These awards reflect the best of what it means to serve this city. I’m proud to work alongside these heroes every day and join in thanking them for their dedication, courage, and commitment to saving lives.”
Lieutenants Gregory Parch and Moran Nuro of the FDNY EMS received an accommodation for working alongside hospital police and saving the lives of patients on a daily basis, something the pair said could not have come at a better time.
“We’re part of the same community. We work together. It’s also actually EMS Week this week, so I think it’s a way of just kind of saying thank you to EMS for going out there and providing care,” Nuro said.
