The ripple effect of love has come in full circle in front of our eyes this week as NYPD officer Denise Gomez (29) was warmly reunited this Friday with two now retired detectives, Eric Ocasio and Charles Claudio, who pulled her family out of a burning car on July 1996, 27 years ago, in Harlem, New York.
Denise, who was only two years old then, was left inspired by the valiant public servants who saved her family’s life that night so much that as she grew, so did her passion for joining the force and returning the act to the public. She saved the newspaper clipping of the article published in 1996 and has used it as fearless motivation up to this very day.
”The article was very emotional. Very motivational for me to go ahead and say, ‘I want to do what they did for me. They saved our lives. They are our heroes. All heroes don’t have capes, so I got the shield now,” Said Denise.
She follows in the steps of her mother, Hortencia Calderon, who was also rescued from the burning car and later joined the NYPD as an auxiliary officer.
Her younger brother Kevin, who was only one year old at the time of the incident, is now in the military. All were inspired to enter the public service space after that day.
During the heartwarming reunion, the air was filled with tears of adoration as we witnessed in real-time the powerful ripple effect that one act of bravery, kindness, and courage can have on the world.
“To find out ten years after I retired that this young lady wanted to carry on because of what my partner and I did that day… It’s very fulfilling,” Former NYPD detective Ocasio said warmly.
“You don’t think about anything,” Remembered Claudio (60), who described how quickly the car went from ‘leaking fluid’ to being inflamed. He later said he was thrilled to learn that Gomez “joined our family.”
“You don’t think about anything,” Remembered Claudio (60), who described how quickly the car went from ‘leaking fluid’ to being inflamed. He later said he was thrilled to learn that Gomez “joined our family.”
“This is a family,” he announced to the NYPD. “I feel like I gained another daughter.”
The shield number 15417 has been passed on to Ms Gomez. The very same shield number Ocasio wore when he was an officer.
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Click Here“It means a lot. It means it’s my time to take over,” Gomez said with proud determination, referring to the former detectives as her ‘guardian angels’.
“On the surface, this is a story about great police work, but more than that, it’s about the split second it takes to change a person’s life forever,” New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban shared. “When we say that police officers make a clear difference, it’s clearly not just words. For officers Ocasio and Claudio, that difference is Dennise Gomez. Her life is their legacy, and their work is her work.”
Denise joined the NYPD in 2022 and has been fearlessly protecting the public since then with the energy of a second breath of life and the courage passed on from her saviours.
TTNF
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