Heroes of the Month are honored at Borough Hall

Two of Brooklyn’s best were honored on Wednesday, July 22 in a ceremony hosted by Borough President Eric Adams.

Dubbing them Heroes of the Month, Adams has paid tribute to Brooklynites that have gone above and beyond to help their borough. Good Samaritan Iver Whittingham and retired New York Police Department Detective Richard Lyman were the Heroes of the Month for July.

Whittingham, a volunteer with women’s empowerment group Battered 2 Beautiful, attempted to break up a vicious fight between teenage girls at a Flatbush Avenue McDonald’s. Whittingham was punched, kicked and thrown by the teens in the process.

“Others just used their smartphones, but he used his smart acting to save the life of a young person on May 14,” said Adams, referring to several witnesses who stood by and filmed the fight.

Adams also paid tribute to Lyman, who solved the 2003 homicide of Lamethia McCollum in Flatlands. Although McCollum’s boyfriend Jefferson Jones was suspected in the murder, it was not until 2012 that Lyman and other detectives matched a weapon used by Jones in a home invasion to the 2003 case.

“The detective [Lyman] had a picture of the victim and her eight-year-old daughter on his desk, on his mind for many years,” said Adams, a former police captain. “He was committed to finding the person who was responsible.”

Heroes of the Month has been honoring the best of Brooklyn since August of 2014, and Adams has made it clear as to why those that go beyond the call of duty deserve praise.

“You always hear bad stories, but no one really gave focus to the good things that people are doing every day,” he explained. “There are people in our community that are just like us, but are doing extraordinary things. We can actually take a step and lend a hand. Ordinary people are doing heroic actions every day.”