Nassau cop on his lifesaving heroics: 'just part of our job'

Nassau County Patrolman Ryan Paterson was off-duty and driving home from an Emerald Society Pipe Band event with his mother and brother when they witnessed a two-vehicle crash in Massapequa.

Instead of driving past the crash scene, Paterson stopped to help. By the time Paterson, still in his kilt, exited his vehicle, one of the two vehicles involved in the March 11 crash on Hicksville Road — a white Ford sedan — had caught fire with the driver still inside.

Paterson, a second-generation Nassau police officer with six years on the job, sprang into action and pulled the disoriented driver to safety.

On Monday, the Nassau County Legislature honored Paterson with its ‘Top Cops’ award for actions that night they deemed heroic, but were "just part of our job," said the First Precinct cop.

“We just keep going to the next call … As long as they live you count them as wins and then you move on,” Paterson said in an interview with Newsday before the ceremony.

Police Benevolent Association president Tommy Shevlin said Paterson's efforts are a reminder that officers are willing to risk their lives, whether they are on the clock or not.

With just moments until flames engulfed the sedan, Paterson gained entry through the front driver’s side door, grabbed the victim, and both escaped moments before the car exploded. Police said the driver, who they did not identify, was treated at Nassau University Medical Center.

“Here’s a police officer who was off-duty and did not have to stop,” Shevlin said. “But he stopped and ran right into danger, risking his own life to save someone else’s life.”

Paterson said his mother was terrified as she watched her son risk his life.

“I was worried about my mom not having a heart attack,” he recalled. “She was standing behind the car and a little bit panicked.”

Lawmakers Monday also honored a Nassau police sergeant who apprehended an armed gunman on his day off, and three detectives who saved the life of a man in Hewlett who had suffered a heart attack.

Sgt. Jimmy Lee was walking on the boardwalk in Rockaway Beach, Queens, on March 23 when he saw a man fire his gun toward the beach, said Ricky Frassetti, president of the Superior Officers Association.

Lee called 911, providing a description of the shooter while continuing to follow him, Frassetti said. But before police could respond, the suspect fired again in the direction of two pedestrians, Frassetti said.

The sergeant took out his gun, directing the shooter not to move, but the suspect moved aggressively toward Lee, according to Frassetti. They struggled for the suspect’s gun before the shooter tossed the weapon and fled on foot. He was apprehended moments later by the NYPD.

“This whole incident lasted about seven minutes,” Frassetti said. “One minute is an eternity. I can’t imagine what seven minutes is like when you’re struggling with someone who has a gun … One split second and things could have turned out very different. A tenth of a second and this subject could have shot Sgt. Lee and we would have been attending his funeral possibly.”

The legislature also honored Fourth Squad Det. Lt. Bryan Kohlmier and Dets. Christopher Smith and Sean Burns for their response to a call of a 73-year-old man who had collapsed in Grant Park in Hewlett.

The detectives ran to the scene, providing CPR and using an automated external defibrillator to shock the victim back to consciousness, said Detectives Association president Michael Maloney.

The victim, Maloney said, was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital and “I’m happy to say he’s doing very well today.”

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.