Hero Officer Receives Liberty Medal for Saving Woman, Dog
State Senator Terrence Murphy (R/Yorktown) presented New York Police Department Officer James Talbert with a New York State Liberty Medal at a ceremony held behind Yorktown Town Hall earlier this month for saving a woman and a dog from a burning car on the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown in July.
“I’m sure anyone who found themselves in the same position would do what I did,” said Talbert, who lives in Mahopac. “It was natural for me to stop. I didn’t think twice.”
The Liberty Medal is one of the highest civilian honors a New Yorker can receive. Murphy said he has only given out three others during the four years he has been in office.
“Presenting this award to Officer Talbert is one of those moments in politics that is a pleasure,” said Murphy. “He has one of the toughest jobs there is. He disregarded his own safety to help someone else. Even when he was off duty, he was still doing his job. What Officer Talbert did was literally save someone’s life.”
While driving to his home in Mahopac from a friend’s house, Talbert saw a vehicle overturned and on fire on the Taconic Parkway. Punching out the sunroof, he pulled a 59-year-old woman to safety. At the woman’s request, he ran back to free her Yorkshire Terrier.
“My training kicked in when I saw the overturned car. When I pulled the woman out, she was semi-conscious and startled, but was all right. She was yelling for ‘her baby,’ so I didn’t hesitate to go back in and get her dog,” Talbert said.
Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R/Brewster), a former volunteer firefighter and EMT for the Kent Volunteer Fire Department, spoke of the dangers associated with responding to such an accident. “It can be very difficult and dangerous to deal with a car fire. The word ‘hero’ is often overused in politics. That’s not the case with Officer Talbert. He’s absolutely a hero,” Byrne said.
Among the guests attending the ceremony were Talbert’s fellow NYPD members including Sergeant Sergio De La Mota and Police Officers Ryan Sheehan, Amir Cepeda, Michael Derosa and Kevin Navarro. His proud family members and friends on hand included his parents, Tim and Robin, his brother, Jake, grandparents, Ginger and Bill, his uncle, Matt, his girlfriend Brittney Bennett, and his friend, Kim Bennett.
The New York State Liberty Medal is given to individuals who have merited special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts and achievements on behalf of their fellow New Yorkers.
In July 2016, Michelle Margilaj, a bartender at Il Laghetto Restaurant in Mahopac, was awarded a Liberty Medal for rescuing an eight-year-old boy from drowning in Lake Mahopac. In December 2016, Murphy presented then 19-year-old student, Cullen Malzo, with a Liberty Medal. Malzo had rescued two teenaged girls from an overturned car that had skidded into Lake Mahopac.
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