By Thomas Tracy
A group of Canarsie police officers were named “Cops of the Month” who went beyond the boundaries of the 69th Precinct to apprehend a group of people wanted for an area robbery. But their pushing of the envelope paid off, because not only were the four suspects taken into custody, but were connected to another crime that took place in Canarsie bank in February. Officials said that Sergeant Brandon Bersch and Police Officers Gerald St. Louis and Jason Deonarin Esingh – all members of the 69th Precinct’s anti-crime team – were on patrol on the night of March 12 when they heard a report of a robbery. An area resident was walking past the corner of East 94th Street and Flatlands Avenue a few moments earlier when three suspects approached and pulled a gun on him. The thieves robbed the victim of his cell phone and jumped into an awaiting car, driven by a fourth individual. Catching the 911 call about the robbery, Sergeant Bersch and his officers began canvassing the area, looking for the getaway car. They found the car near the corner of Kings Highway and Remsen Avenue. “They went outside the boundaries of the command to get these guys,” explained Captain Ralph Monteforte, the commanding officer of the 69th Precinct. The officers pulled over the car, took the four men inside into custody, recovering a .380 pistol as they did so. They were then brought to the site of the robbery where the victim identified them as those who mugged him. The officers brought them to the 69th Precinct on Glenwood Road, where the suspects were connected to another robbery earlier that day after a line-up, Monteforte said. No serious injuries were reported in either crime. Police said that at least one of the suspects had been apprehended about a month earlier for the shooting. The other suspects didn’t have a criminal record, officials said. None of them lived in Canarsie, Monteforte said. He explained that the officers due diligence have helped reduce crime in the command by nearly thirteen percent this year. Statistics dated on March 23 said that felony assault in Canarsie had dropped by 32 percent while grand larcenies, or non-violent thefts of $1,000 or more had also fallen by 25 percent. Rape reports had also fallen, by 66 percent, according to NYPD numbers. Monteforte said that there hasn’t been any homicides in Canarsie since the beginning of the year. By this time last year, four killings had been investigated. But there has been a slight increase in both robberies and burglaries. Officials said that there had been three more robberies this year than the 53 reported by the end of March last year. There have also been five more burglaries. Over the last fifteen years, felony crime in Canarsie had fallen by 75 percent, statistics show.
