2018 NJSPBA Valor Awards
Modern-day superheroes
Some people refer to law enforcement
officers as superheroes, picturing them
fighting crime on the streets like Spi-
der-Man or Batman. And while law en-
forcement officers don’t wear capes or fly,
they do have one thing in common with
superheroes: they always do their best to
defeat the bad guys.
On April 1, that’s exactly what Eliza-
beth Local 4 Officers Daniel Rivera and
John Arrarte did. The pair responded to
a call of shots being fired at a local gen-
tlemen’s club. When the officers arrived at
the scene, they saw three males shooting
at a group of people in the lot across from
the club.
After identifying themselves as law en-
forcement officers, they began shooting at
the gunmen. Instead of surrendering, the
gunmen got in their vehicle and aimed
their weapons at Rivera and Arrarte.
Not only were the officers able to es-
cape the gunfire in time, but they man-
aged to broadcast a detailed description
of the gunmen’s vehicle. Not long after,
the three men were arrested.
For their brave actions, Rivera and Ar-
rarte were honored with a silver medal at
the 2018 PBA Valor Awards in November.
Going on stage to accept the award
may look easy, but Rivera had a case of the
butterflies beforehand. “It’s a great feeling
to be here, but I was nervous because it’s a
big crowd of people,” he said.
Rivera’s experience is not unusual in
terms of what other officers may experi-
ence when stepping on stage to be recog-
nized for going above and beyond. These
feelings may stem from the reality that to
these brave men and women, defeating
the bad guys is a just part of the job.
Arrarte said that receiving the award
was validation of the importance of an
officer’s day-to-day work. “I was taken
aback, but I’m glad someone has taken
the step to commemorate what we’ve
done. A lot of times, you work in this pro-
fession and a lot of jobs get overlooked.”
Silver Medal of Valor
Offi cer Johnny Arrarte
Offi cer Daniel Rivera
Elizabeth Local 4
His sentiments remind us why the PBA
Valor Awards are in place: to celebrate
those law enforcement officers who may
not always get the recognition they de-
serve.
And despite the perilous situation he
found himself in, Arrarte recounted the
events that occurred that night in mod-
est terms. “Basically, we defeated the bad
guys and took them off the streets.”
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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