An NYPD officer who tackled an ISIS-inspired bomber outside the mayor's own residence was honored this week — a stark reminder that the people tasked with keeping Americans safe are the same people progressive politicians and prosecutors keep undermining.
Officer Grant Pulgarin received a plaque at the Police Benevolent Association's Finest of the Finest Awards in Queens Thursday, recognized for taking down a terrorist who hurled a fuse-lit improvised explosive device into a crowd outside Gracie Mansion on March 17. The attack targeted a demonstration. Pulgarin spotted the bomber mid-attack, ran toward the danger, and executed what PBA Treasurer Joe Strong called "a perfectly executed tackle, one that any NFL coach would be proud of." He held the terrorist down while his accomplice was also arrested.
The ceremony honored dozens of NYPD cops who faced the worst this city has to offer. Officers Seoungjae Chung, Donglun Liu, Antonio Andreani and Lt. Michael Simmonds of Brooklyn's 62nd Precinct kicked down a door to save four children, ages 8 to 16, being stabbed by a meat cleaver-wielding attacker on April 6, 2025. All four children survived. The officers shot and wounded the suspect to end the carnage, according to PBA Recording Secretary George Winkler.
The NYPD Harbor Unit's Officers Christopher Kessinger, Steven Westgate and Sgt. Jose Figueroa rescued 19 sailors from a Mexican Navy vessel that struck the Brooklyn Bridge in May 2025, carrying victims to safety after two crew members died. Officer Joseph Wetzel, undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, still ran toward a flipped, burning car on Long Island to rescue two trapped people.
These are the cops the establishment loves to lecture. PBA President Patrick Hendry made that plain: "We know there are people out there who think they can do our job better, who want to tell us how to do our jobs," he told the crowd of about 150. "But none of them ever had to face an individual who pulled out a gun, pointed at them, and started firing. None of them ever ran towards a burning car and rescued the person inside. None of them ever gave chest compressions to a baby who wasn't breathing."
Meanwhile, on the other coast, the job only gets more dangerous. A Gardena police officer shot and killed a man Friday night who grabbed a handgun during a traffic stop and fired at police, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The officer spotted the gun within reach of the driver, issued multiple commands to leave it alone. The man grabbed it anyway, exited the car, and opened fire. The officer returned fire, killing him. No other injuries reported.
The bomber at Gracie Mansion was labeled "home-grown" and "ISIS-inspired" by the PBA. Pulgarin couldn't comment on the case due to the active investigation. What the public still doesn't know is how that bomber and his accomplice got to the mayor's front door in the first place — and whether anyone in power will ever be held responsible for the conditions that put them there.
