Palm Beach Police officers honored at First Responders Appreciation Foundation event

A local foundation recently honored members of the Palm Beach Police Department ahead of National Police Week, which was May 12-18.

Detective Stephen Buscemi and Sgt. Kendall Reyes were recognized at the First Responders Appreciation Foundation’s annual luncheon May 2 in Palm Beach Gardens. Reyes received the foundation’s Award for Valor/Heroism. Buscemi was the Palm Beach Police Department’s Officer of the Quarter for the first quarter of this year.

Reyes' careful rescue of a 67-year-old woman from the edge of the five-story condominium building at 2778 S. Ocean Blvd. on June 18, 2023, has earned her multiple awards including the Florida Police Chiefs Association 2023 Lee McGehee Police Officer of the Year Award and the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

Reyes was able to use her de-escalation and conversation skills to coax the woman, who was experiencing a mental health crisis, away from the roof’s edge. Once she established a rapport with the woman, Reyes was able to quickly pull the woman from the ledge, just as the woman began to throw herself toward the ground below.

Buscemi has been lauded for his use of technology in arresting two people in connection with a Jan. 14 burglary at a home on Everglade Avenue, in which men in a Tesla pulled into the home's driveway. One entered the house while the Tesla and a driver waited outside, according to arrest reports. The homeowner confronted the man inside the home, but he did not leave until he had taken a car key and credit cards from a table.

The thieves made off with one of the homeowners' vehicles, with the Tesla following behind. A key piece of evidence came from the Tesla’s camera system. The type of warrant Buscemi obtained for the camera's footage was a first for any detective in Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Police said.

Buscemi, fleet manager Todd MacLauchlin and telecommunications supervisor Tina Funk received nominations for the foundation’s awards.

Help is available for people experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis. Call the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, 211 or go to 211palmbeach.org.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach officers honored at first responders foundation event