Malinowski Cites 2 Westfield Police Who Disarmed Gunman At School

WESTFIELD, NJ — Rep. Tom Malinowski spoke on the House of Representatives floor on Friday to thank two Westfield police officers who encountered a man with a gun and a trunk full of ammunition in the parking lot of a Westfield elementary school in June of 2019.

"The officers disarmed and arrested the man, potentially saving the lives of the teachers, staff, and kids," the congressman said.

He said he was making the comments in the wake of recent mass shootings in America, and that gun laws are too loose in other states.

On June 13, 2019 Officers Jeffrey Johnson and Michael Pollack responded to the school after getting a tip. They encountered a man in the parking lot who, according to police, was holding a .45 caliber gun and had 130 rounds of ammunition in the trunk of his car.

The man, Thomas J. Wilkie, 46, of Bear, DE, was sentenced in February 2020 to 5 years in jail, and must serve 42 months (three years and 6 months) before his release.

Wilkie pleaded guilty to weapons offenses in January 2020.

Wilkie's father said in a report in NJ.com in 2019 that he may have dated a faculty member at the school. On Wilkie's Facebook page, a family member defended him in a series of posts and said people didn't have all the facts.

“Madam Speaker, as we mourn the victims of another senseless mass shooting in America, I rise to recognize two police officers in my district: Jeffrey Johnson and Michael Pollack of the Westfield Police Department, who prevented a potential mass shooting in my district in 2019," Malinowski said Friday.

Malinowski's office said many of the weapons were "not legal in New Jersey, but which he’d obtained legally in another state. The officers disarmed and arrested the man, potentially saving the lives of the teachers, staff, and kids. The officers recently received the 'Hero Award' from our Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and I continue to honor their heroism here on the House floor today."

He added, "This incident is another reminder that while we have strong gun laws in New Jersey, and one of the lowest rates of gun violence fatalities in the country as a result, many of our neighboring states do not. And as long as our gun laws are inconsistent across state lines, those who wish to commit mass murder will find the means to do so."

READ MORE: Man Who Had Gun In Westfield School Parking Lot Gets 5 Years

You can watch a video of Malinowski's comments here.

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