Police Officer of the Month, June 2008

The Shields Of Long Island are proud to name Police Officers Joseph Hughes and Phillip Brady of the Bureau of Special Operations, Nassau County Police Department as our Police Officers of The Month.

On March 28,Officers Brady and Hughes were assigned to plainclothes patrol in an unmarked B.S.O. vehicle. They were in the vicinity of the 7-11 store on Grand Ave. in Baldwin, when they noticed a subject emerge from the rear seat of a Nissan. They watched this subject look around suspiciously before he entered the store. The vehicle immediately backed out of the parking stall and was then positioned near a driveway exit.

Believing a possible robbery or larceny was in progress, the officers requested assistance over the radio and supplied vehicle description and plate number of the Nissan. The vehicle suddenly left the parking lot, headed southbound in the northbound lanes of Grand Ave. making a quick left turn. Officers Brady and Hughes followed, turned on their emergency lights, and conducted a vehicle stop of the auto.

They advised B.S.O. base of their stop location, and directed responding units to the 7-11, where the suspicious passenger had been left behind. The driver's hasty exit and reckless driving elevated the officers' suspicions, and they approached the car with guns drawn. As P.O.s Brady and Hughes got closer to the auto, they saw the front seat passenger move forward and down in the seat, and heard a male voice saying, "Go, go, go!". The officers verbally ordered the occupants to stop moving and warned the female driver to stop the car and turn off the ignition. She initially refused, and started to drive in reverse. P.O. Brady shouted a warning to his partner, again directing the driver to stop the car. She complied, but the passenger refused to stay still and instead started to exit the vehicle.

P.O. Hughes grabbed him, and immediately felt what he believed to be body armor under his clothing. P.O. Hughes then warned P.O. Brady of his discovery, fearing the obvious possibility of weapons possession by these subjects, he immediately forced the male to the ground and handcuffed him. Assistance had not yet arrived, and P.O. Brady had to remain on the driver's side covering the female driver.

With the arrival of another B.S.O. team, the officers quickly decided to separate between the two locations. They feared that the third subject may have committed, or be committing a robbery back at the 7-11 store. P.O. Hughes ran back to the store with one of the assisting officers while P.O. Brady stayed at the vehicle with the other officer. P.O. Brady then ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and immediately observed a firearm on the floor of the car in a spot where her right foot had been concealing it. She was then handcuffed and secured away from the other subject. P.O. Hughes coordinated a tactical deployment of arriving plainclothes officers on the perimeter of the 7-11 in order to prevent a potential hostage situation. He supplied a description of this subject to all units, and then moved to a position to observe the store’s front door. P.O. Brady advised the officers of the recovery of a loaded revolver as he searched the vehicle for more weapons. Several minutes later as the third subject exited 7-11 he was apprehended. All three subjects were transported to the First Precinct stationhouse for arrest processing and further investigation by the First Squad. The defendants were charged with various weapons possession charges and Unlawful Wearing of a Body Vest. All the subjects have previous arrests for assorted felonies including weapons possession and one was wanted on a Nassau County warrant.

All police officers learn during their academy training and from experience to remain vigilant in order to deter crimes and enhance their safety on the street. It is clear that Police Officers Brady and Hughes were highly diligent in carrying out their duties. Their perceptive observations and effective control of (2) potentially dangerous scenes resulted in the arrests of 3 felons and recovery of a loaded firearm and bulletproof vest. More importantly, they almost certainly prevented the armed robbery of an active commercial establishment, with an unknown number of potential victims. Police Officer Brady and Police Officer Hughes performed admirably that night, and deserve recognition as our Police Officers of the Month.