Southgate Police Sgt. Matt Szymoniak (second from left) and Police Officer Christopher Parsons (fourth from left), who received life-saving awards during the Oct. 4 City Council study session, are honored by Police Chief Mark Mydlarz (left), Mayor Joseph Kuspa, Public Safety Director Joseph Marsh and Councilmember Bill Colovos.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – Police Sgt. Matt Szymoniak and Officer Christopher Parsons were honored with lifesaving awards Oct. 4 during the City Council study session.
Mayor Joseph Kuspa said the city was fortunate to have officers of their caliber protecting the residents of the city.
Public Safety Director Joseph Marsh said Szymoniak has been with the Southgate Police Department for 12 years and was with the Allen Park Police Department before that. He said Parsons has been with the Southgate Police Department for more than five years, having started his career with the Detroit Police Department.
“Both these individuals work the midnight shift and it’s not necessarily the glorious shift to work,” he said.
By way of introduction, Marsh said that both officers are part of the department’s aerial drone program, which Szymoniak spearheaded and developed, and now leads and facilitates training.
Marsh said that Parsons is one of the ALICE – Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate – active shooter response trainers for the city’s schools and with select local businesses.
He said the event for which the officers were being honored occurred Oct. 19, 2022, at Motel 6 on Northline Road when Parsons responded to a call for a domestic situation between a man and woman. At one point the man was holding a screwdriver against the neck of a woman as he threatened to harm her.
By the time the officers arrived, the woman had been released, but the man had barricaded himself in the room and was threatening to kill himself with the screwdriver, which he alternatively held to his neck and to his chest.
Marsh said that during the ordeal, the officers focused on trying to comfort the suicidal man.
“He’s making these suicidal threats and barricaded the door,” he said. “The officers were able to force their way into the door, but then they had obstructions, and they had to get through the things that the individual had placed in front of the door.”
Marsh said the man kept the officers at a distance by threatening to plunge the screwdriver into his chest.
“These officers tried for like 25 minutes to talk to this individual, to get him to put this screwdriver down,” he said.
After the officers cleared the doorway, Marsh said they slowly tried to deescalate the situation as they built a rapport while slowly advancing toward him.
“They were able to distract him just enough and at that moment, when they felt it was absolutely right, they just converged on him, and no one got hurt,” he said.
Marsh praised the officers for disarming the man and preventing any self-inflicted injury.
“These officers put themselves at risk and really proceeded forward in a very dire situation and had a great outcome,” he said. “Because of that we are awarding them a lifesaving award, so congratulations.”