Brooklyn Boro

BP Adams honors high-profile detectives, firefighters at borough’s latest ‘heroes of the month’

March 28, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams presented Lt. Detective John Russo, a Williamsburg-raised police officer whose diligence helped crack the murder case of slain jogger Karina Vetrano, as his “Hero of the Month” for February at a ceremony in the courtroom of Brooklyn Borough Hall; they were joined by NYC Police Commissioner James O’Neill (center, left) and members of Russo’s family. Photo Credit: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP’s Office
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Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams was recently joined by FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill as he honored a group of detectives and firefighters involved in two recent high-profile incidents as his latest “Heroes of the Month.” The honorees included NYPD Lt. Detective John Russo, a Williamsburg-raised police officer whose diligence helped crack the murder case of slain jogger Karina Vetrano, as well as FDNY firefighters Todd Brenner and Andrew Scharf of Ladder Company 176 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, who successfully performed a rare roof-rope rescue to save a man from a burning church in Ocean Hill. All honorees — many with their families, friends and colleagues — were present for a ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall to share their stories and to formally be recognized by Adams. 

“There’s a clear crime-fighting and public safety theme in this batch of heroes,” said Adams. “Ensuring public safety requires an all-in commitment from community, police and firefighters alike, and these three Brooklynites exemplify what it means to go above and beyond in this ongoing pursuit.”

Russo, who grew up as the son of a retired police officer in the 90th Precinct, was named February’s “Hero of the Month.” On the night of Wednesday, Aug. 2, 30-year-old Karina Vetrano left her home in Howard Beach to go jogging through Spring Creek Park. While she was jogging, a man intercepted her, raped and strangled her, and left her body in the weeds. As detectives looked for clues in the case of her brutal killing, they found it difficult to piece together with little evidence left at the crime scene. After months of searching for the killer with scant hope in sight, Russo, a Howard Beach resident himself, followed up on a memory he had of seeing a man being apprehended for suspicious activity in the neighborhood. That suspicion led to further investigations and finally a name came up; that person was identified and his DNA samples matched the samples left on Vetrano’s fingernails. Police followed up and, in the first week of February, arrested the man, who is now being charged with second-degree murder.

“Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare — especially a child so young and so full of life and potential for her future,” said Adams. “Karina was Cathy and Phil Vetrano’s pride and joy. I know they are very grateful for Lt. Detective Russo’s bravery in speaking out and working hard to find Karina’s killer — and so am I.”

 

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