Exclusive | Cop who tackled Gracie Mansion bomber among heroes honored at PBAs Finest of the Finest
They are some of the best apples.Dozens of NYPD cops were recognized with awards and cheers from their fellow Finest this week at a Police Benevolent Association event in Queens.“We know there are people out there who think they can do our job better, who want to tell us how to do our jobs,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said Thursday at the Finest of the Finest Awards at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach. “But none of them ever had to face an individual who pulled out a gun, pointed at them, and started firing,” Hendry said.“None of them ever ran towards a burning car and rescued the person inside.
None of them ever gave chest compressions to a baby who wasn’t breathing.All of you have done those things.”The police officers honored for bravery included Officer Grant Pulgarin, who tackled a suspected home-grown terrorist who had just hurled an improvised explosive device into a crowd in an ISIS-inspired attack outside Gracie Mansion in Manhattan’s 19th Precinct on March 17.“This officer was policing a demonstration outside Gracie Mansion when he spotted a man who had just thrown a fuse-lit bomb,” said PBA Treasurer Joe Strong.
“He ran toward the danger and stopped the terrorist with a perfectly executed tackle, one that any NFL coach would be proud of.”Pulgarin, who couldn’t comment on the case because it’s part of an active investigation, then held the terrorist down as he was handcuffed while his accomplice was arrested, Strong said.The officer was handed a plaque at the ceremony.Also honored for their bravery, Officers Seoungjae Chung, Donglun Liu, Antonio Andreani and Lt.
Michael Simmonds of Brooklyn’s 62nd Precinct shot and killed a meat cleaver-wielding, maniac after he stabbed four children in an 84th Street home on April 6, 2025.The officers broke down the door to save the children, ages 8 to 16, who all miraculously survived their stab wounds, the PBA said.“Upon arrival, these officers hearing screams from inside the ap...