Three members of Troop K recognized by the American Legion for acts of valor and heroism
NEW YORK STATE POLICE
Major Robin H. Benziger
Troop K Commander
PRESS RELEASE
Pictured (left to right) are Trooper Colwell, Sergeant Strobel, County Commander William Hogan, State Commander Frank Peters, Trooper Rose and Lieutenant Eugene Hallenbeck, SP Livingston.
On March 6, 2014, three members of the New York State Police, Troop “K”, were recognized by the American Legion for acts of Valor and Heroism.
Trooper David G. Rose, SP Kinderhook, was awarded the Medal of Valor for actions he took to disarm a distraught veteran in the Town of New Lebanon in July 2013. After successfully engaging the despondent, non-communicative person in dialog about his military service, he convinced the young man to release the shotgun he was threatening to harm himself with.
Trooper Matthew Colwell, SP Livingston, received the Gold Star of Heroism for two separate acts of heroism. The first incident, which occurred in October of 2013, involved his response to a report of a child being unable to gain entry to his residence in Livingston after returning from school. Trooper Colwell took swift and decisive action by utilizing a neighbors ladder to access a second story window into the home. He subsequently located the child’s mother suffering from life-threatening, self-inflicted lacerations. He was able to notify rescue personnel and administer critical first aid until their arrival, thereby saving her life. The second instance occurred in March 2014 when Trooper Colwell responded to an automatic fire alarm at a retirement home in the Town of Livingston. Upon arrival he observed an apartment engulfed in flames. After successfully evacuating the occupant, he utilized a fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle to extinguish the fire, which had begun to engulf an entire wall of the residence. His swift actions likely saved the occupant and the entire structure from destruction.
Sergeant Paul R. Strobel, SP New Lebanon, received the Gold Star of Heroism for rescuing a mother and her child from a burning residence. Utilizing only a face mask and his firematic training, Sergeant Strobel had to enter the smoke-filled residence to locate and retrieve the victim because they were paralyzed with fear and unable to find their way to the exit.
