04th Capt. Christopher Manson, center, honors Officers Paul Bergen, left, and Brian Lesniewski for their exemplary police work at the precinct’s community council meeting on Tuesday evening. Photo by Phil Corso
The 104th Precinct recognized two of its top cops for bringing justice to a man who almost got away with knocking down and choking a woman walking with her baby – all just to steal her cell phone.
Precinct Capt. Charles Manson told the heroic story of officers Paul Bergen and Brian Lesniewski at Tuesday night’s monthly meeting of the 104th Precinct Community Council Meeting at Christ the King High School in Middle Village before awarding them honorary plaques. The captain said that while cell phone thefts were not uncommon throughout the city, this particular attempt left an impact on him because of the circumstances.
“We make a lot of good arrests, but this one caught my eye because of the victim,” Manson said.
Manson said the woman was pushing her 3-year-old baby in a stroller on Nov. 13 around 9 a.m. in Ridgewood when 40-year-old Juan Pavor ran up behind her, choked her and stole her cell phone. Bergen and Lesniewski pursued Pavor and found him waiting for the nearby M train, where they arrested him.
The captain described the collared criminal as a Hispanic homeless man with a series of previous arrests already under his belt. And if not for the quick thinking of officers Bergen and Lesniewski, he would still be at large, Manson said.
“We really appreciate what the council does to recognize these officers,” Manson said. “We make a lot of arrests, but every now and then, one stands out when an officer goes the extra mile to get the bad guy.”
In his monthly crime update, Manson said his officers reported more than half of the 30 pubs and bodegas targeted over the past two months were caught selling alcohol to underage patrons. The precinct has a three-strike rule in regards to illegally selling booze and was acting accordingly to bring those numbers down, the captain said.
As for other crime numbers, Manson said the precinct was making headway in curbing robberies, burglaries and stolen cars since the turn of the new year. For the month of February, the captain said his cops brought crime numbers down almost 12 percent with reductions in every category but grand larceny autos.
There has also been a recent rash of phone scams not only in the western Queens 104th Precinct, but throughout the city, Manson said. Such crimes have been contributing largely to the Police Department’s overall crime statistics.
Manson said some of the most vulnerable victims to phone scams were the elderly and immigrant populations and he urged all residents to remain vigilant against any kinds of calls soliciting personal information like credit card numbers or anything of the sort.
By Phil Corso
