By Heather Kays<\/p>\n
Newark, NJ\u2014<\/strong>Members of the Police Division were presented with awards Friday for outstanding service to the City of Newark at a public ceremony held at St. Lucy\u2019s Church.<\/p>\n The award recipients included police officers, civilian personnel, business and law enforcement partners and community members who were given medals, awards and certificates in recognition of acts of valor, meritorious conduct and other service distinctions.<\/p>\n During the ceremony Detective Joe Soares was named the 2018 Purple Heart Recipient. Soares told TAPInto Newark that he was ecstatic to be given the award and that he had no idea it was coming.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel terrific,\u201d said Soares. \u201cIt\u2019s a great day.\u201d<\/p>\n Soares was shot once in the chest while executing a narcotics search warrant. A\u00a0police officer for 17 years and member of the SWAT team for 13 years, Soares did not return fire despite the harm that befell him. Soares said there was a child sleeping in a room inside the premises.<\/p>\n A humble Soares said he responded exactly the way he was supposed to based on his training and that he simply did his job. Soares\u00a0said he had good days and bad days since he was shot and that the day it happened seemed like any other up until being shot once in the left side of his chest. The protective gear he was wearing saved his life.<\/p>\n On Friday, Soares posed for photos and spoke with residents, other officers, and officials who congratulated and thanked him.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for the work that you do every day single day for the residents and the citizens of this community,\u201d said Mayor Ras J. Baraka. \u00a0\u201cWe appreciate the work that you do\u2026 the hard work that you do every single day to make our city safer.\u201d<\/p>\n Baraka thanked all the officers and citizens recognized for the work they do in the city on behalf of the entire city and noted several outside agencies the city developed partnerships with and who help Newark when necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here today because of the bravery, the honor, the hard work that goes into policing in our city,\u201d said Baraka. \u201cI\u2019d like to congratulate all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose also spoke and expressed gratitude to all the officers and public servants in attendance.<\/p>\n Baraka said in Newark the police are appreciated not only for protecting citizens but also for doing their jobs in a way that upholds the constitutional rights of the city\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in Newark should be a model for what happens around the country,\u201d Baraka said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Heather Kays Newark, NJ\u2014Members of the Police Division were presented with awards Friday for outstanding service to the City of Newark at a public ceremony held at St. Lucy\u2019s Church. The award recipients included police officers, civilian personnel, business and law enforcement partners and community members who were given medals, awards and certificates in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[23,2,19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n