The call went out: a Pittsburgh police officer was down. In less than 45 minutes, a crew of five Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) volunteers arrived at the scene in Stanton Heights. They were there for what came to be known as the worst disaster in Pittsburgh police history; before it was over, three officers had been killed and two wounded in a standoff with a heavily armed suspect.
Salvation Army EDS volunteers make themselves available around the clock, 365 days a year, to fulfill the Army’s challenging national promise: “Doing the Most Good.”
“[That] isn’t just a slogan,” says Bob Myers Jr., EDS director. “It’s our promise. It is the answer to every question about operations. We ask, ‘What will achieve the most good for the most people in the most need?’ Then we do it.”
In this case, volunteers Joseph Lucas III, Holly Tatrai, and Nancy Jones deployed the Metro EDS canteen, secured in a safe location behind the SWAT command post, just after 8 a.m. on April 4, 2009, to serve water and food, support the police officers, and calm neighbors. Two more volunteers, Jason Harchick and Donald Santoriello, drove their own vehicles to the scene to assist Myers.
“Their response was immediate and immediately appreciated,” Myers said.
At that point, the suspect was still firing. And the hours wore on.
“It was hard to be there,” said Jones, a registered nurse, “but I wanted to help.”
The crew managed the scene while Myers and another volunteer, Raymond Adomonis, delivered drinks, food, and support to police headquarters.
Several officers shook Myers’s hand, and one said, “We couldn’t do it without you. You guys are the best.”
Back at the scene, the armed suspect was still holding on. Before noon, the standoff was over, with the suspect injured and arrested, but detectives said the investigation would continue into the night. Ray Adomonis and fellow volunteer William Hardy drove a squad to the scene to provide relief and restock the canteen. The crew stayed until 11 p.m.
After that, they prepared for the next call, which would surely come. The Metro EDS Team responded to more than 330 incidents within the past year in Allegheny County alone, racking up 30,520 hours of volunteer service. They are supporters of heroes.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Donaldson used that word to describe the fallen officers—Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle, and Paul Sciullo II—at their memorial services.
“Heroes are ordinary people put in extraordinary situations, and [they] rise to the occasion,” he said. The officers’ choice to serve others despite the danger they knew they would face is why Police Chief Nathan E. Harper referred to them as “three beacons of light on a dark day.”
Both police officers and the Metro EDS team have a call to duty. For the police, it’s to protect and to serve. For EDS, it’s to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” (James 1:22, KJV) Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, at the memorial services, acknowledged the need for both kinds of servants.
“Whether you were in the SWAT truck, positioned on a roof, serving food to officers in need, or comforting a neighbor shaken by tragedy, you made a difference.”
That morning, April 9, was yet another opportunity for the EDS team. Five staff members, two Salvation Army officers serving as EDS chaplains, and 22 volunteers operated six canteens throughout the city. Together, they greeted and served thousands of visiting police officers, from as far away as California and France, as they paid their final respects to their comrades.
For EDS, one important aspect of the work is being a “ministry of presence” for those who need someone just to listen or hold a hand. That morning, the city asked for the Salvation Army’s help to feed approximately 60 family members who gathered at Police Headquarters following the memorial services. EDS Assistant Director Michael Koenemund responded immediately, delivering food, drinks, and our condolences.
For The Salvation Army, it’s all part of “Doing the Most Good.”
Betsy Welteroth is deputy director for volunteers for the Western Pennsylvania Division’s Emergency Disaster Services.
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