Superintendent Akers Recognizes Officers for Serving Our Community
Springfield, Mass. — Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence E. Akers would like to publicly recognize Officers Lindsay Ruby, Ana Quiles and Detective John Lopez for serving the public in a manner that shines a positive light on our department.
On September 1st, officers responded to Commonwealth Avenue for a well-being check for a child. A resident found a four-year-old boy she did not recognize walking around the neighborhood apparently lost. The resident attempted to find the boy’s home but was not successful. Officers began walking with the non-verbal child in an attempt to find his home and were approached by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. While utilizing other resources to attempt to find the child’s home, an AMR Paramedic who was knocking on doors believed to have located his parents. The child was reunited with his family and brought to Baystate to get checked out.
Mayor Sarno reached out to Superintendent Akers and passed along his appreciation and thanks to the officers who responded for their compassion they showed for this young boy who was away from his home for more than two hours.
Superintendent Akers stated, “First of all thank you to everyone involved, from the neighbor who found this boy wandering and called the police, to the officers who cared for this boy and the paramedic who located his home. Without the Mayor’s message, I would not have known about our officers’ actions during this sensitive situation. Unfortunately, our officers respond to incidents like this far too often, but I can rest easy knowing that they do so in a professional manner. Thank you to Officers Ruby, Quiles and Detective Lopez for your work in making this boy feel comfortable on what must have been a traumatic day. Every interaction with the public makes a difference and want all our officers serving our community in the same manner that they bravely protect our community.”
