Fil-Am cop with cancer gets Roosevelt Award

A Filipino-American New York City police officer was among four brave NYPD members honored for refusing to let debilitating medical conditions stop them from serving in the police force.

Police Officer Allan Elazegui of Brooklyn’s 68th Precinct was given the Theodore Roosevelt Award for Continued Service by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Oct. 24 for remaining on the job after overcoming debilitating illness or trauma, embodying the spirit of the 26th US President.

Elazegui was diagnosed in December 2011 with a fast growing cancer in the brain known to invade neighboring tissues.

He endured nearly a year of radiation and chemotherapy treatments resulting in brain swelling that required removal of the part of his skull.

Yet the former U.S. Army security specialist in Iraq was back to work at the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge by November 2012.

Also honored were Officers Veronica Ruiz, Benjamin Kaye and Detective Eric Grimes.  
 
“Every year, we recognize members of the department who, like Roosevelt, have exhibited incredible courage and perseverance in the face of adversity,” Kelly said during an elegant dinner at a midtown ballroom.

“The winners of the award in his name take their place among those who have confronted the most difficult circumstances imaginable, and managed to overcome them,” Kelly said.

“You carry on the finest traditions of Theodore Roosevelt and this department, and provide inspiration to us all.”

The Police Commissioner’s Theodore Roosevelt Award has been given annually since 2005 to exceptional members of the service who have overcome significant medical hardship, in the name of President Theodore Roosevelt, who suffered from debilitating heart condition and childhood asthma.

Throughout his life he overcame the physical challenges associated with these illnesses to become the president of the New York City Police Commission from 1895 to 1897, assistant secretary of the Navy, governor of New York, and president of the United States. — Filipino Reporter