This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Ferndale Honors Police Officers, Resident for Bravery

Saving lives, breaking up home theft rings and preventing robberies are all in a day's work for Ferndale Police and its residents.

The city of Ferndale on Monday night presented 15 officers from the Ferndale, Detroit and Hazel Park police departments as well as a Ferndale resident with awards for their acts of bravery and awareness. 

None of the officers were present at Monday's City Council meeting to receive their awards, but Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins spoke highly about each one of them as he announced the awards.

Saving a life

Ferndale Police Officer Timothy Andre also received the Life Saving Award for his outstanding work in the line of duty. Last spring, Andre rushed to the aid of a man down at the  gas station, 1358 W. Nine Mile Rd. The man was not breathing and did not have a pulse when the officer arrived on the scene. He assisted Ferndale Fire in providing CPR to the unconscious man before another rescue crew arrived and performed more advanced life support procedures.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“To get this award they actually have to have saved someone’s life,” Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins said.

The man was rushed to the hospital where it was determined he suffered from a condition that caused a change in heart rhythms and eventual unconsciousness. The rescued man was released from the hospital three weeks later in good health.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The hospital personnel and the firefighters both commended Officer Andre for his actions, which resulted in the saving of a human life,” Collins said.

Unit commendations

A citizen called Ferndale police on Jan. 27 to report a possible armed robbery at the Valero gas station, 6401 W. Eight Mile Rd. in Detroit. There were four suspects and one was suspected of possessing a weapon.

“We forwarded that information over to the Detroit Police Department,” Collins said. “Our officers heard that and they can’t contain themselves and they all rushed over there.”

Ferndale Police were able to apprehend three of the suspects before Detroit officers arrived on the scene.

The fourth suspect barricaded himself in the bathroom of the gas station. Coupled with Detroit officers, Ferndale police arrested the fourth suspect and safely disarmed him of his his TEC-9 semi-automatic gun.

Jennings and Officers Steve Carroll, Jeff Pearce, Chris Schwartz and Andre received unit recommendations for this incident.

Ferndale resident receives award

Ferndale resident Meredith Morgan called police at 1:02 p.m. on Dec. 23 when she observed a suspicious vehicle and people in a possible home invasion in southwest Ferndale.

Ferndale, Detroit and Hazel Park police responded to the call. When police arrived, three suspects fled into the surrounding neighborhood before being apprehended and arrested.

Once arrested, the suspects admitted to a string of home burglaries in Ferndale, Oak Park, Hazel Park and northern areas of Detroit.

 “These officers cordoned off the area. They worked very well together,” Collins said. “It broke up a huge ring of home invasions that we had been suffering for a long time.”

Collins presented a Citizen Award to Morgan for her assistance in the arrests while Jennings, Pearce and Andre received another Unit Commendation for their work. Ferndale Sgt. Shane Ptak, Lts. Brian Czajkowski and William Wilson, Officer John Heath, Detectives John Thull and Paul Simpson, dispatcher Larry Perry, as well as an officer from Hazel Park and two officers from Detroit also received Unit Commendations.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.