Greek American Officer John Hasiotis was praised by NYPD last week for his role in apprehending Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old suspected of killing eight people and wounding 13 others in New York.
Hasiotis along with fellow officer Ryan Nash, were credited in doing an extremely professional job under very difficult circumstances.
Nash and Hasiotis were responding to a call about an emotionally disturbed person at a high school not far from the World Trade Center; when someone reported an accident on the bike path outside.
The officers raced to a gruesome sight: A man in a truck had slammed into a school bus after mowing down people in a bike lane. He was waving guns around and yelling. Nash, 28, told him to drop the weapons and then fired, striking the man once.
Hasiotis and two other officers; Michael Welsome and Kevin McGinn, secured the area, took witness statements and grabbed the guns. They also showed restraint by not firing their weapons into the crowded area, police said.
“While we mourn the terrible loss of life and the injuries to innocent people, we are proud of, and grateful for, the quick action of a team of police officers who responded to cries for help and took charge of a chaotic and dangerous situation,” said police union president Patrick Lynch.
Greek American reporter Nancy Biska wrote on her Facebook page how proud she was about Hasiotis.
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