On December 1 at the Town Council meeting, Officer Mark Esposito will be formally promoted to the rank of sergeant. The Council will also be issuing a formal proclamation to retired Sergeant Keith Woodbine for his 24 years of service.
In addition, the following officers will be publically recognized and awarded various medals:
Officer Jack Billings (Newport Police Department)
Detective Derek Carlino
Both will receive the Life Saving Medal for their response to the Newport Bridge on March 2, 2013 for the report of a suicidal subject preparing to jump from the bridge. The two officers successfully calmed the subject and distracted him to the degree that they were able to physically remove from outside of the railing of the bridge and bring him to safety. These two officers placed their own lives at risk and their actions undoubtedly led to the rescue of this man.
Sergeant Mark Esposito
Sergeant Esposito will receive the Life Saving Medal for his response to a residence in Jamestown on August 2, 2104. Upon arriving he was confronted with a despondent female as she was actively engaged in hanging herself by use of a rope. Sergeant Esposito quickly reacted and was able to prevent her death by his immediate response and actions.
Dispatcher David Bento
Dispatcher Bento will receive the Life Saving Medal. On May 18, 2014, Dispatched Bento received a 911 call from a 77 year old male who reported that he was lost in the woods of Beavertail State Park. Dispatcher Bento was able to obtain the GPS coordinates of the man’s location and then create a digital image of the area map showing the exact location. Dispatcher Bento then transmitted the electronic image of this map to the responding officers. Armed with this information, the officers were quickly able to locate the man who was approximately ¾ of mile into the wooded area. It was the remarkable efforts of Dispatcher Bento and the use of the technology that led to the rapid rescue of this man.
