4 APRIL 5, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
104 Precinct Community Council honors great service
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Two officers were honored for
their standout work, and a dedicated
former member of the
104th Precinct Community Council was
recognized for his service at the civic
group’s March 27 meeting in Glendale.
Members of the community gathered
at the Shops at Atlas Park to see
offi cers Jonathan Combs and Richard
Teemsma, partners on the 104th Precinct’s
conditions unit, receive the
‘Cop of the Month’ award for an arrest
they made in February. Abraham
Markowitz, a former vice president
of the council, was also given an appreciation
award for the time he spent
serving with the group.
Captain John Mastronardi, commanding
offi cer of the 104th Precinct,
introduced his offi cers and told the
story of their work that deserved
being awarded.
On Feb. 13 at approximately 4:30 p.m.,
Combs and Teemsma were on routine
patrol when they heard a 911 call for a
disorderly group near Maurice Avenue
and the Long Island Expressway, Mastronardi
said. The call then escalated
into a dispute, or a fi ght, and the offi cers
started driving in that direction.
y g
Upon arriving at the location, the
offi cers observed a man matching
the description on the radio running
right toward them, Mastronardi said.
Combs and Teemsma got out of their
car, engaged in a foot pursuit with the
suspect and made the arrest. According
to Mastronardi, the suspect was
among a group of perpetrators that allegedly
assaulted an Uber driver and
stole the driver’s phone right before
running into Combs and Teemsma.
The pair was also awarded with
certifi cates from Assemblyman Brian
Barnwell’s offi ce.
Mastronardi likes to put his offi cers
on the spot aft er presenting the ‘Cop
of the Month’ award by briefly interviewing
them, but he said he also
wants the public to get to know his
offi cers more personally. The captain
told the audience that Teemsma is also
an attorney when asking him why he
became a police offi cer.
“I like helping people, and there’s a
lot of action and a lot of excitement,”
Teemsma said. “It’s something I’ve
always wanted to do because I’m
from a family of cops. My grandfather
was a sergeant and my father was a
detective, so I wanted to follow in
their footsteps.”
When the mic was passed to Combs,
he explained that his goal as a police
offi cer is to work on the K-9 unit, and
he told a story of how a dog once
helped them locate a missing elderly
person.
The attention then turned to council
president Len Santoro, who presented
Markowitz with his award. The longtime
vice president of the council has
done more for the 104th Precinct than
Santoro could say, but he had to step
away from the civic group because of
the success of his business. Santoro
said that losing him was like losing a
left hand.
“If you ask him for help, he will do
whatever it takes to help you in many
diff erent ways,” Santoro said. “He’s
very generous to the 104th Precinct
with both his time, and frankly all the
resources at his disposal.”
Markowitz took a moment to thank
his former colleagues and refl ect on
his time with the council.
“The 104th Precinct and the council
was for me like a family,” Markowitz
said. “Thank you for everything
you guys did for me. I will never
forget what Glendale is, and I’m always
going to come back and see my
neighborhood.”
Photos By Ryan Kelley/QNS
Offi cers Jonathan Combs and Richard Teemsma are recognized as ‘Cops
of the Month’ at the 104th Precinct Community Council meeting in
Glendale on March 27.
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