ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
By DYLAN FOLEY
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The New York Post
September 10, 2004
A routine foot patrol last May became a baptism by fire for a rookie cop, and could have turned into a nightmare if not for her smarts, cool and training.
Maribeth Diaz was looking for shoplifters near Macy's at Herald Square when, suddenly, a group of panicked tourists and office workers ran by her.
"I didn't know what was happening until somebody yelled, 'There's a man with a knife!' " said Diaz. "I thought, 'Oh, shoot.' "
An emotionally disturbed man with a large knife had just stabbed two people sitting on a bench in Herald Square Park, then stabbed two others who tried to stop him.
Diaz entered the park, drew her gun and ordered the man to drop his knife, cops said. But he refused, and allegedly moved toward the young officer.
Diaz, 23, who was only five months out of the Police Academy, fired once, hitting the man in the hip.
"Officer Diaz is a young cop, but she made all the right moves," said Richard O'Neill, a Post reader, who nominated her for The Post's New York's Finest Liberty Medal.
"It was surreal," said Diaz. "I was yelling, 'Drop the knife, drop the knife!' "
Diaz said the suspect, José de Jesus, 29, of Newark, was 10 feet away when she shot him.
"Police are trained that if someone has a knife and they are 20 feet away, that is a lethal distance," she explained.
De Jesus, who has a history of mental illness, told other officers at the scene he had hoped cops would shoot him dead.
Diaz, who's assigned to the Midtown South Precinct, said stopping the knife-wielding man was all in a day's work.
"It was my job, and I had to do it," said Diaz, a Lower East Side native who dreamed of becoming a cop since she was 17. She credited her months of training for her quick response.
"It was like my body took over," she said. "I didn't hesitate."
Ya' gotta love those 124 gr. 9mm Gold Dots.
By DYLAN FOLEY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New York Post
September 10, 2004
A routine foot patrol last May became a baptism by fire for a rookie cop, and could have turned into a nightmare if not for her smarts, cool and training.
Maribeth Diaz was looking for shoplifters near Macy's at Herald Square when, suddenly, a group of panicked tourists and office workers ran by her.
"I didn't know what was happening until somebody yelled, 'There's a man with a knife!' " said Diaz. "I thought, 'Oh, shoot.' "
An emotionally disturbed man with a large knife had just stabbed two people sitting on a bench in Herald Square Park, then stabbed two others who tried to stop him.
Diaz entered the park, drew her gun and ordered the man to drop his knife, cops said. But he refused, and allegedly moved toward the young officer.
Diaz, 23, who was only five months out of the Police Academy, fired once, hitting the man in the hip.
"Officer Diaz is a young cop, but she made all the right moves," said Richard O'Neill, a Post reader, who nominated her for The Post's New York's Finest Liberty Medal.
"It was surreal," said Diaz. "I was yelling, 'Drop the knife, drop the knife!' "
Diaz said the suspect, José de Jesus, 29, of Newark, was 10 feet away when she shot him.
"Police are trained that if someone has a knife and they are 20 feet away, that is a lethal distance," she explained.
De Jesus, who has a history of mental illness, told other officers at the scene he had hoped cops would shoot him dead.
Diaz, who's assigned to the Midtown South Precinct, said stopping the knife-wielding man was all in a day's work.
"It was my job, and I had to do it," said Diaz, a Lower East Side native who dreamed of becoming a cop since she was 17. She credited her months of training for her quick response.
"It was like my body took over," she said. "I didn't hesitate."
Ya' gotta love those 124 gr. 9mm Gold Dots.
