Rescued from a burning car at the age of two, a New York Police Department (NYPD) recruit met her two saviors for the first time since the events of 1996.
Officer Dennise Gomez was just a child when Detectives Eric Ocasio and Charles Claudio pulled her, her mother and little brother from a burning vehicle in East Harlem.
The young police officer was reunited with the two men who pushed her to choose this profession during an emotional event which took place last Friday, reported the “New York Post”. It was during this event that the young woman received Charles Claudio’s service badge number.
“When we say police officers make a real difference, it’s clearly not just words… (Gomez’s) life is their legacy,” New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban said in introducing the badge to Gomez, causing Claudio to burst into tears. “And now their work is his work.”
Dennise Gomez entered the police academy in 2022. Although she doesn’t remember the event, she said it’s what inspired her to try her hand at the New York Police Department. .
“It means a lot. It is an honor. I hope I can do exactly what they did for others. “That’s why we’re here: to help others, to be there and to serve,” she said, calling the two retired detectives “superheroes.”
The two men were also deeply touched by the story of the young policewoman.
“It’s a ripple effect knowing you made an impact as a young man coming into the force. You always dream of something like this and you want to do well, you want to do good. But finding out 10 years after my retirement that this young woman wanted to continue because of what my partner and I did that day, it’s very enriching,” said Eric Ocasio in tears.
“I’m just glad she joined our (police) family. It’s a family. I feel like I’ve gained another girl,” Charles Claudio said of Gomez, adding that it was a “great honor” for him to experience this moment.
