Glen Cove cop's 'in that moment' approach saved a life and made him a hero

When Glen Cove police officer Mathew Grabowski approached a screaming motorcycle driver whose leg had just been severed in a crash, his medic training kicked in.

"You're kind of in that moment," Grabowski said. "There's really no room for emotions or anything. You kind of just do what you’re trained to do."

On Thursday, Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) presented Grabowski with a flag at an event in front of the Glen Cove police station to honor law enforcement heroics. The Glen Cove Police Department had previously recognized his rescue efforts with their "Life Saving Award."

On the night of July 15, Grabowski said, the motorcyclist had run a red light, been struck by a car and knocked to the ground. Grabowski, a 25-year-old Glen Cove native and a trained paramedic, arrived on the scene at the same time paramedics got there. The paramedics set up an IV with pain medicine while Grabowski grabbed a tourniquet from the trauma bag.

The victim’s left leg was severed below the knee. Grabowski applied the tourniquet high up on the left thigh to stop the bleeding.

"It’s crazy stuff but unfortunately it becomes routine," Grabowski said.

The officer's actions "saved the motorcycle driver’s life by preventing excessive blood loss," Suozzi said.

Grabowski was one of 11 police officers in Suozzi’s district recognized by the congressman Thursday at his second annual "Hometown Heroes" ceremony. Suozzi held his first such ceremony last year to show support for the law officers in the face of calls to defund the police during a summer of protests after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer.

"I want to make sure that I do it every year going forward to send a very clear message about the heroic actions of police officers in my congressional district," Suozzi said at the ceremony. "to hold up these folks as examples … of the type of activities that we need to respect and admire and be grateful for because they keep us safe."

Other officers honored were: Glen Cove police Det. Brian Glennon, whose undercover investigation into an alleged fentanyl dealer led to an arrest and federal charges brought against the suspect; Nassau County police Officer Jorge Barco, for the successful tracking and pursuit of a vehicle after the driver fled the scene of an incident and allegedly had an illegal firearm and a mock AR-15 in car.

Six Suffolk County police emergency service officers were honored for successfully resolving a hostage situation in Kings Park; and honors went to two NYPD officers based at the 111th Precinct in Bayside, Queens, who stopped an attempted burglary and apprehended an alleged armed burglar at a Dunkin store.

Suozzi gave each police officer an American flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol in their names.