A 68th Precinct police officer snagged Cop of the Month honors for June for two significant collars, one of which resulted in the rescue of a teenage boy who was being abused by a sexual predator.
According to Captain Joseph Hayward, the commanding officer of the 68th Precinct, Police Officer Salvatore Mazzaro saved the 15-year-old, who had been reported missing, after he went to meet the alleged predator in person, having gotten to know him on the internet.
“The predator had started to groom the boy, talking to him and getting him into a situation where the kid felt all right going into the individual’s home,” explained Hayward, adding that when Mazzaro and the other members of the midnight patrol tracked him down in the suspect’s home, “The boy was there and being abused.”
After securing the residence as a crime scene and getting a search warrant, Hayward continued, Mazzaro also discovered child pornography and drugs on the premises.
In the other arrest, Mazzaro and other members of the midnight patrol had responded in the early morning hours to a report of a burglary in progress on 14th Avenue.
“They weren’t worried about their own safety,” Hayward recounted, explaining that Mazzaro and the other officers who responded took into custody two suspects, one of whom had been arrested 13 times before.
“One was a violent offender who had several burglary arrests,” Hayward said. “They had broken into an establishment, breaking a window, and set off an alarm. It was a really impressive job, and they couldn’t make me more proud.”
Mazzaro has made over 70 arrests, working the late tour, according to Hayward.
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