Throughout his police career, Lyndhurst Chief Richard L. Jarvis Jr. has earned many superlatives. And on Christmas Eve 2022, he earned yet another — life saver. Here’s how it all happened, according to Lyndhurst PD Public Information Officer Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri.
At around 3 p.m., Dec. 24, the Lyndhurst Police Department received a call altering them to the a 26-year-old man who was reportedly unresponsive. Dispatch assigned the call, but by pure chance, Jarvis, already out on the road, was closest to the location, so he responded.
When he arrived on-scene, he was met by a friend of the 26-year-old, who directed the chief to a bathroom in a house. When Jarvis got the loo, he found the victim lying on the floor with a belt wrapped around his neck, signs of an apparent suicide attempt.
Jarvis then immediately removed the belt and began resuscitation efforts. Jarvis was then joined by two officers, Michael Carrino and James Colacci, who assisted and administered oxygen, as the man regained consciousness.
The man, who was reported to be suffering from depression, was transported to New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus, for a mental and physical evaluation.
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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.