The Commanding Officer of a Bronx precinct looked to recognize his cops Monday with tickets to a Jets game as a reward for their hard work, only to find himself on the receiving end of a surprise.
Captain Emmanuel Kwo of Police Service Area 7 in the South Bronx says he was struck with an idea to show appreciation for the hardest-working cop under his command. Each month, one officer is chosen as “cop of the month,” but he said he wanted to find a way to show his gratitude that went further than simply a precinct-wide email and a photo hung on the wall.
“Usually the cop of the month is just something where you send out an email to the entire command and you say: ‘Hey, congratulations to the police officer and so on,’” Kwo said. “I just felt as though that just wasn’t enough.”
Captain Kwo connected with the New York Jets—who host an annual first responder game in December—and inquired if there was something special they could do for the deserving men and women who serve the South Bronx.
“I’m always trying to come up with different ways of just letting the men and women who I work with know how much they’re appreciated,” Kwo said.
Kwo thought since the Jets always host the event that is fully intended for first responders (EMS, FDNY, NYPD and others), he felt that it might be a great way to highlight those who go above and beyond the call of duty.
“I just figured this would be something really cool for them to experience, and I wanted to do everything I could to try to make that happen,” Kwo said.
During the surprise announcement on Nov. 18, not only were the officers told they were going to be guests of the Jets in December, but as an additional salute Kwo was named Captain of the game.
“In the midst of it all, the Jets themselves named me an honorary captain for the game. So that surprised me, which was not really what I was expecting myself. So I guess surprises all around,” Kwo said laughing.
The officers were in pure shock, since many of them are diehard Jets fans, they couldn’t believe that they would receive such an honor. Kwo shared that their expressions were priceless when they heard the news.
“I hope that it continues to motivate and let them know that there’s organizations out there that they may not say it on a daily basis, but they are certainly appreciative of what they’re doing,” Kwo said.
“Your work is appreciated, not just in South Bronx, but, you know, in the entire tristate area. I think it’s a constant reminder for them that no matter what happens after the game that what you do matters, and just keep doing it. And people notice,” he added.
