LOCAL HEROES FETED
Christmas kindness and help for woman under attack earn hero coins
Acts of kindness, heroism honored in city ceremony.
Two members of Albuquerque’s bravest and a future member of Albuquerque’s finest received recognition Wednesday for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Mayor Tim Keller honored crew members from Fire Station 5 for a Christmas act of kindness after inspiration came in the form of a 2-year-old girl they rescued.
In what began as an effort to simply put a smile back on the girl’s face, fire Lts. Jeff Ruscetti and Steve Stratmoen ended up collecting and delivering more than 100 Christmas gifts to children in the hospital.
“I’m thankful to say that she’s visited us since,” Ruscetti said. “She’s doing well. She needed a smile on her face and we came together with a few other organizations and gathered a lot of toys to bring to her to cheer her up. The response was much more than we thought, and we ended up with about four shopping carts of toys. To put a smile on her face was definitely our goal, but in doing so we decided we would disburse these toys throughout the three floors of the children’s hospital. It was a good day for quite a few different people.”
Keller also recognized Albuquerque Police Cadet Brian Wilson, who is scheduled to graduate in about four weeks, for coming to the aid of a woman recently who was attacked by a pack of dogs while walking her own dog in a city neighborhood.
Police Chief Michael Geier said Wilson epitomizes the kind of ideals and character desired in new officers.
“A young man pulled up in a car and not only offered to call the police, but made sure the woman and her dog got in her car and got to safety as soon as possible,” Geier said. “Cadets are very cautious about doing anything off duty. They’re behavior is monitored 24/7. Brian took the risk and he did the right thing, and we’re very proud of what he did.”
Each of the men received a “hero coin” from the mayor’s office to memorialize their contributions.