Officers Carlos Delcompare and Stephen Garcia are being awarded commendations for the action they took during an incident at 70 Clarke Avenue on June 9.
It was 2:30 a.m. and officers Delcompare and Garcia arrived at the Clarke Avenue location where they found children hanging their heads out of the second floor apartment windows screaming for help.
Both officers ran into the building, up the stairs and into the apartment and into the kitchen.
A pit bull and a Rotweiller – two ferocious breed of dogs – were in a death struggle with one another, tearing at one another, ripping each other apart, their blood soaking the floor and the walls with the children nearby petrified.
Officer Delcompare pushed a girl away from the fighting dogs and put her behind him to shield her. He pulled his taser out and zapped the dogs. Nothing could stop them. The taser was useless.
Officer Garcia placed himself between the dogs and the children, who were in a bedroom off the kitchen. He pulled his taser. He zapped the dogs. Not only did this fail to level the animals but now they turned toward the officers and began a charge.
Garcia drew his pistol and fired off four rounds into the large pitbull. He fired a single round into the Rotweiler. They both fell to the floor in a mess of blood and torn skin.
Here is how the commendation reads: “These two officers were exposed to a very chaotic scene with hysterical family members. They acted quickly, professionally and without hesitation. It was these quick actions that prevented either of the officers or the children in the apartment from being attacked by the dogs.”
We thank Officers Delcompare and Garcia for their heroism and for their strength in the face of killer dogs.
This is the kind of bravery that Chelsea residents expect from their police officers.
Nice work well done.