84th Precinct officer saves life of 3-month-old

A deserving cop of the month

March 20, 2014 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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It was a typically cold day in early January when police officer Jeff Boardman and his partner received a call that there was an unconscious baby at the Bank of America on Fulton Street. Only two blocks away, he quickly raced to the scene.

When he got to the scene, Boardman immediately checked the 3-month-old boy’s vitals and realized he wasn’t breathing. Luckily, Boardman has a 3-year-old daughter at home and regularly takes CPR classes in case of a similar emergency, so he knew exactly what to do.

“I was going off of pure adrenaline and acting on instinct,” Boardman recalled. “When you have a young child of your own, it really brings it to reality. I checked the vitals and he wasn’t breathing, so I started doing chest compressions. After just two, the baby instantly started breathing again. It’s like having God on your shoulder.”

Once the baby started breathing again, Boardman and his partner, Officer Isaac, cleared the crowd and waited for EMS to take the baby to Brooklyn Hospital, where he was declared to be in stable condition.

Two months later, the 84th Precinct Community Council recognized Boardman’s heroics and named him the Cop of the Month at a council meeting held at St. Francis College on Tuesday.

“When one of your cops saves a baby’s life, it’s a wonderful effort,” 84th Precinct Captain Maximo Tolentino said proudly. “I was very impressed with Jeff. He did a fantastic job.”

“We’re really proud,” Community Council President Leslie Lewis added. “This is a wonderful thing that he did. It’s great to meet someone like Officer Boardman, who has done this wonderful thing. It’s hard to do better than that.”

Boardman, who has been a cop in New York City for nine years and at the 84th Precinct for eight, was presented with an award by Borough President Eric Adams and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. Boardman added, “It sounds corny, but I just love helping the community.”

Crime Report

After Boardman was honored, Tolentino gave the crime report. Overall, crime is up slightly over the last 28 days compared to the same time period a year ago in the 84th Precinct, with robberies and burglaries being the biggest contributing factors.

Over the last 28 days, robberies are up from 15 to 17, assault is down from six to five, burglaries are up from two to nine, grand larceny has held constant at 36 and there were no grand larceny auto. Felony assaults are up this year compared to last, with 28 incidents year to date compared to just 14 last year.

“The felonious assaults are mostly attributed to one very bad month,” Tolentino said. “Some of the cases were very minor, but overall we’re past that point now and we’re headed in the right direction. Going forward, I’m comfortable with the program we have in place.”

There were a couple of robbery patterns that Tolentino did admit being concerned with that he put additional resources toward. One involves groups of two to three men walking up to people, robbing them and fleeing near Dean and Bergen streets, between Hoyt and Smith.

“They normally attack, they are looking for individuals walking alone with a cell phone or other electronic in their hands, and they run back to the Wyckoff and Gowanus houses. If you live in that area, just be mindful of the fact that you have to look at your surroundings. Don’t have your head buried in your phone.”

Another pattern was spotted near Joralemon Street and Atlantic Avenue between Henry and Hicks streets, where an “individual with an especially large nose” has been asking women for directions on how to get to Jay Street before robbing them. Additional officers have been patrolling the area.

“Those are the two emerging conditions that we have now, and we’re going to spend time in those areas until we resolve it. We have no leads at the moment. We need you to call 911 immediately if anything happens.”

There was one shooting during the past 28 days. It took place at 202 York St., where a victim was shot in the buttocks. After he was transported to the hospital, they were able to save his life, but he could still potentially lose his leg. The victim hasn’t cooperated with police, and video evidence was destroyed. Detectives have an idea of whom the shooter was, but they are still working on the case.

“This is a relatively safe area,” Tolentino stressed. “Of the 67 crimes that occurred in this area during the 28-day period, at least 36 of them were attributed to unattended property. We’re very happy that the grand larcenies are down.”

Three suggestions Tolentino made to avoid being the victim of unattended property theft were to avoid leaving valuables in cars where perps can spot them, to use quality locks when going to the gym and to always lock your doors.