Topic: First Responder Friday

Meet Ethan Hutchinson, 13, a junior first responder with Lafayette Fire Company in Lancaster, PA. Ethan dreams of becoming a firefighter like his dad, who’s a fire chief.

Tony Mussorfiti is a retired lieutenant from the Fire Department of New York and a HAZMAT specialist. He serves on the Advisory Board of First Responders Children’s Foundation, as well as the Board of Advisors for Friends of Firefighters in Brooklyn, New York. Tony was part of the recovery effort at Ground Zero, after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and is concerned about the mental health of first responders.

Neal Thornhill is a Reserve Deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, specializing in Search and Rescue. He works out of the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, which covers an area of 187 square miles all around the Santa Monica Mountains.

Today we salute Samuel Battle (1883-1966), a true trailblazer, the first Black police officer to join the NYPD on June 28, 1911. During his stellar career, he became the NYPD’s first Black Lieutenant, later heading one of the NYPD’s first SWAT teams. A force for good, Battle was assigned to the growing Harlem community and frequently helped ease the tensions between NYPD officers and the Black community.

Rafael “Ralphie” Beaumont is an EMT for Jamaica Plains Hospital in New York City, where he and his colleagues…

Officer Javarro Long, of the New York City Police Department, was born and raised in the South Bronx. He is currently assigned to the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, with 17 years of proud service. Javarro volunteers as a mentor with the First Responders Children’s Foundation Chorus, a collaboration of first responders and children who create and perform music together.

Born and raised in Chicago, educated at Howard University in Washington DC, she received her Masters in Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary and her Doctorate from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. Reverend Dr. Kimberly Davis is chaplain with the Chicago Police Department, where she has served as an officer for 19 years.