Two East Brunswick Police Officers Nominated for Valor Award

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco has nominated two police officers for N.J. State Association of Chiefs of Police’s prestigious Valor Award for preventing a distraught man from attempting suicide.

The NJSACOP’s Valor Award recognizes New Jersey police officers and private citizens who demonstrate exceptional heroism and commitment to their profession and to the public they serve.

On June 21, 2020 officers Robert Thuring and Ryan Hensperger helped stop a 28-year-old man from jumping off a Route 18 overpass onto the busy New Jersey Turnpike.

The two officers grabbed and struggled with the agitated man, Chief LoSacco said. “They could have easily been pulled over the overpass railing and also fallen 50 feet onto Turnpike traffic below,” the police chief said.

He described their actions as “quick, decisive” and “clearly reflective of their dedication to duty.”

Thuring is an eight-year veteran of the department, who began his law enforcement career in 2011 as a Monroe Township patrolman.

Hensperger joined the East Brunswick police in 2017 and has a criminal justice degree from Rutgers University.

Thuring and Hensperger are among 33 nominees from nine police departments in line for this year’s Valor Award. The awards will be presented at the 109th NJSACOP’s Annual Conference & Police Security Expo, to be held from Aug. 23–26 in Atlantic City.

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