Two of Kearny’s greatest public servants were recognized as Police Officer and Firefighter of the Year at a special ceremony at the American Legion Post 99 — Angel Baez (Police) and Shawn B. Ford (Fire.) Both received their awards from Len Twist, the Legion’s vice-commander. Each heard a speech from their chief in honor of their accomplishments.
First, it was Police Chief Scott Macfie, who spoke for Baez, 22, and who has been a police officer since he was just 19.
Baez is a graduate of Newark’s Arts High School and from an early age, he had a strong desire to serve in blue.
“During all four years of high school, Officer Baez served as a Newark Police Explorer,” Macfie said. “This laid the foundation for a career in law enforcement at an early age.”
That’s an understatement.
After high school, Baez began taking classes at Kean University, but his timing to take the Civil Service test was perfect — and at 19 he headed to the academy. He had some familial help along the way, too — his uncle, Esteban Gonzalez, is also a Kearny police officer.
“Esteban served as a guiding role throughout his (Baez’s) youth,” Macfie said. “When he’s off duty, Officer Baez enjoys sports of all kinds and remains rounded with the principles of hard work, service and community. His rapid accomplishments and unwavering commitment are testaments to his bright future ahead, not just for himself, but for the department and the community he proudly serves.”
That’s another understatement — and this week, Baez will head out, on loan, to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, where he will serve that department’s Special Victims Unit as a detective. Baez was one of five officers who applied for the role, but the only one chosen for it, following interviews by the Detective Bureau, Macfie and the HCPO.
“Angel rose to the top, interviewed with the prosecutor’s office, they selected him as well. Next week (now this week), he joins the HCPO … at 22-years-of-age, by the way. His career is (well) on the way up.”
Baez will serve the HCPO for at least a year.
Why Baez was chosen as Cop of the Year
Police officers sometimes have to perform less than glorious heroic work — mostly unseen in the day-to-day operations of a department.
But Baez’s efforts go far beyond the ordinary, including the tragic fire that took the lives of two people on Hamilton Avenue in December 2024, as well as three unit citations, an apprehension award, a life-saving award and a meritorious service award.
At the tragic fire, “Angel entered the residence and carried a victim outside prior to anyone else arriving,” Macfie recalled. “But he also apprehended a gentleman who had robbed a woman which led to a conviction. He also had a CPR save of a male — that gentleman would not be here today were it not for Angel’s actions. And based on those incidents, he is the Police Officer of the Year.”
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Meanwhile, and no less important, Shawn B. Ford, a 1992 graduate of Kearny High School, is this year’s Firefighter of the Year. He additionally served as a radio man in the United States Navy from 1994 to 1998. During his tenure, he was twice deployed to the Persian Gulf — in 1995 and 1997 – both times on the USS Merrill, of San Diego.
Ford was appointed to the Kearny Fire Department April 2005 and recently completed his 20th year of service. For all of those years, he’s been assigned to Station 3 — Midland Avenue Fire Headquarters — Mastandrea said. He is also, in addition to regular firefighter and EMT training, an advanced swift-water rescue operator and operates Marine 3, the Kearny fireboat.
He was also recognized for his service in 2012 during Super Storm Sandy, where he was called out hundreds of times for service.
Why Ford was chosen as Firefighter of the Year
“Sean is a true, senior firefighter,” Mastandrea said, while noting he is a mentor to younger members, where he “bridges the gap” between senior officers and rank-and-file firefighters. “On Oct. 31, 2024, while working an off-duty film detail in South Kearny, Firefighter Ford observed a production worker in distress. Ford quickly recognized the male was choking and the airway was blocked, preventing the person from breathing. Ford, without hesitation, administered an abdominal thrust until the foreign object became dislodged. After being evaluated, the male party refused further medical assistance but the training, quick actions and decisiveness on the part of Firefighter Ford ensured the best possible outcome for the worker.
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Mayor Carol Jean Doyle, meanwhile, who attended the ceremony along with Councilmembers Marytrine DeCastro, Jose Rodrigues and Jerry Ficeto, presented both awardees with proclamations in honor of their heroic efforts.
She lauded Baez for his rapid ascension at the Kearny Police Department and lamented losing him for the next year. “I’m sure you’ll come back even better than ever,” Doyle said.
But she also recalled, in presenting Ford his proclamation, a time when the late Charlie Dolan, during the COVID pandemic, was unable to get out to get a vaccine since he was bed bound.
“His wife, Jo-Ann, was devastated she couldn’t get the shot,” Doyle recalled. “But fortunately, the fire department said, ‘We can bring Charlie to the school,’ so they brought him down King Street. But after, what Sean did, was take Charlie through Kearny, where he lived, St. Cecilia Church that meant so much to him. …So not only do we fight fires, but we have that human interest that helps us be the town that we are. Sean, we recognize that and so appreciate what you did for Charlie and Jo-Ann talks about that very often.”
Editor’s note: Check back next week for a full recap of all of the awards given at the Kearny Police Department’s valor award ceremony last month.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.