Deputy Inspector John Bambury of the 83rd Precinct and the Ridgewood Times presented an award to Officer Rafael Belardo for his work making two separate gun arrests over a span of three days.
Belardo, who has been assigned to the 83rd Precinct since August, recovered two guns from two 16-year-olds in Bushwick.
“He saw a bunch of kids drinking and one was armed with a gun,” Bambury said, recounting one of the arrests. “The kids didn’t get hurt. The cops didn’t get hurt. They’re not going to shoot anybody and ruin their lives.”
Belardo grew up in Bushwick and attended Anita Haines’ Hope Gardens Community Center as a child.
“We are very proud of him,” Haines said.
