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Crime & Safety

B-BP Alum Receives National Police Award

Officer Robert Angelo, now living in Bangor, Maine, received an award for his heroic efforts as a police officer.

Officer Robert Angelo of the Bangor Police Department in Maine, and Bayport-Blue Point High School alumni, was recently announced as the winner of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Officer of the Year Award.

Angelo, 42, will be honored at an awards luncheon in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 14 for his heroism and achievements as a police officer.

Last month, Angelo responded to a call that a woman threw herself off a bridge. The woman survived the plunge, but was nearly freezing to death in the water and could not swim. Angelo jumped into the river and pulled her to safety. His quick response saved the woman’s life.

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“I don't think I thought about it at all,” Angelo said. “I think you just do what you are going to do. If you are going to jump in the river, you just do it. If you stop and think about it, you'll quickly realize that this is probably not a good idea.”

In December 2009, a similar accident occurred. Angelo saved a different woman from threatening to jump off another bridge into the icy cold water. She had recently lost her children. For 30 minutes he pleaded with the woman to come down off the slick ledge. As she turned to come down, she slipped, but Angelo grabbed her before she plummeted into the river.

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However, Angelo confessed that if he didn’t have help pulling the woman back over the ledge from two other officers, the woman would have fell.

Aside from his heroic acts, Angelo is a dedicated officer. He participates in a variety of special groups at the Bangor Police Dept. Angelo is a member of the tactical response team, he works on one of the K-9 patrol teams and is also a licensed self defense instructor and physical fitness instructor at the police department.

Despite all of his efforts, Angelo admitted that is honored, but he does not think he deserves all the recognition.

“There are hundreds of officers across this country who have done more than I have to earn this award,” Angelo said. “The fact that they (NLEOMF) have chosen me is humbling and it truly is an honor.”

Angelo graduated Bayport- Blue Point High School in 1987. He went to SUNY Cortland and received a degree in education. Though he had a degree to teach, being a police officer was more important to him.

“Even as I worked toward my degree, I knew that I wanted to be in law enforcement,” Angelo said.

He met his wife Laura during his senior year at college and after they got married, they decided to move to Maine. Angelo found work at the Brewer Police Dept., which was located just outside Bangor. After two years, Angelo left Brewer and joined the force at Bangor Police Dept. He said Bangor offered opportunities that Brewer did not because it’s a city.

Angelo said he is  satisfied with his decision to be a police officer and believes his job has many important aspects.

“The most important thing to me is being there for the people who need help,” Angelo said. “Not just the people who jump in the river, but also the person who just got into their first automobile accident, or just had their home broken into. Every day, we get called to assist people with all kinds of issues.”

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