Evesham Police Chief Christopher Chew believes police officers are never truly “off duty.”
That belief certainly held true in Evesham on Dec. 7 when two detectives with the State Police who were technically “off duty” subdued an individual with a replica gun at Van Zant Elementary School.
To honor the detectives for their de-escalation of a potentially violent situation, Evesham Township Council used its Dec. 15 meeting to award a proclamation to Marlton resident Timothy Long and his partner Phil Conza of the NJSP Moorestown Barracks.
During the council meeting, Chew recounted the incident at Van Zant, which he said began on Dec. 7 at 3:49 p.m. when Evesham Police started receiving 911 calls reporting a male armed with a handgun had been observed in the yard of the Van Zant school.
At the same time Evesham Police were receiving those calls and dispatching officers to the scene, Long’s wife was at the school to pick up their children, at which time she also saw the male with the gun and immediately contacted her husband.
In what Chew describes as an act of luck, Long and Conza were nearby at the time of the incident.
According to Chew, Long and Conza arrived at the scene slightly earlier than Evesham officers, and without hesitation jumped out of their car, chased the subject and tackled him while Evesham officers placed the subject in handcuffs.
Reports from Evesham police after the incident identified the suspect as a 14-year-old Marlton resident, with those reports also stating it wasn’t believed the subject intended to harm anyone, as his weapon was determined to be a replica gun and the subject commented to police he hoped they would shoot him in a suicide-by-cop type of situation.
“Luckily, these two troopers got there first, whom I believe de-escalated the situation because they were not in uniform and were able to tackle the suspect prior to us engaging a shooter incident, so these two individuals should be commended for their act,” Chew said.
Reading from a proclamation, Mayor Randy Brown said Long and Conza’s swift actions prevented the incident from escalating and successfully protected the safety of the surrounding public and all parties involved.
“Det. Long and Det. Conza should be commended for their immediate responses to the incident and their excellent coordination with Evesham Police Department,” Brown read. “These officers exhibited exceptional display of teamwork, professionalism that reflects highly upon the tradition of police work.”
Brown also thanked the officers in his own words as a father of two daughters in the district, with his wife also teaching there.
“I can say thank you, and I know there are many parents in this district who would love to say thank you,” Brown said. “On behalf of them and Evesham Township Council, we say thank you for your actions.”
Upon receiving the proclamation, Long thanked the township and said as a resident it was an honor to receive an award from his town.
“Everyone here should feel extremely comfortable with how the school and police responded. I am,” Long said.
Before the incident at Van Zant, the Evesham Township Police Department and Evesham Township School District had a shared services agreement where each would pay half the cost of providing four, part-time Evesham officers to act as resource officers for the district during school days.
After the incident, the township placed police officers in all of the district’s schools throughout December, with the hope of coming to a long-term agreement with the district to continue the arrangement.
Brown said township manager Tom Czerniecki and Superintendent John Scavelli were engaged in discussions, which he said would hopefully come to fruition soon.
Brown also noted that since the incident, St. Joan of Arc School has also agreed to become part of the program.
