On the afternoon of August 27, parole officers D. Fernandez and A. Gould were leaving the parole office on busy Livingston Street in downtown Brooklyn. They passed three men on the sidewalk who were standing and talking. Fernandez recognized one of the men as a parolee. Seconds later Fernandez and Gould heard a gun shot from behind them and took cover. Looking back they saw two of the men struggling for control of a gun. Immediately putting on their shields and identifying themselves as parole officers, Fernandez and Gould shouted to the men to drop the gun and not move. As the gun fell to the pavement, one of the men dropped to the sidewalk. The second man ran away, shouting, “This guy just tried to shoot me!” Fernandez took custody of the man on the pavement, Lance Aponte. He had wounds from a bullet that hit his leg. At the same time, Gould secured the gun and covered Fernandez as they called for police and an ambulance. Meanwhile, N. Joseph, bureau chief of parole for Brooklyn, Sr. parole officer J. Fernandez, parole officer V. Guerrero (Marte) and institutional safety officers M. Rod and C. Escado rushed out of the parole office. They chased down the man who ran and also took into custody the man Fernandez had recognized. The two men who had fought over the gun, each accused the other of attempting to rob him. Aponte has now been charged with attempting to rob the man who ran off. All three men who were questioned are or have been on parole. “This is exactly the kind of thing we do: intervening to protect public safety,” said Division 236 Council Leader Tony Perez, a parole revocation specialist. “We are recognizing these brave men and women to give them the credit they richly deserve. They are well trained and can rise to the occasion when they are confronted with life-threatening events in the community.” Officer D. Fernandez said, “I was really grateful my fellow officer had my back. It feels good to know I’m part of a ‘family’ of professional peace officers who are ready and willing to assist a fellow officer in a time of need.” PEF President Susan M. Kent wrote to The Chief Leader, citing the danger parole officers experience in protecting the public. Kent said, “We believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo should want to protect these officers who protect the state's citizens. We are calling on him to sign the (Parole Officer Workplace Parity) legislation now.” This would give them “the same support already afforded to other law-enforcement officers in New York.” The parity legislation passed unanimously in the Assembly and with overwhelming support in the state Senate. It would provide for the continued payment of salary and medical expenses for up to six months for parole officers, warrant officers and parole-revocation specialists injured in the line of duty. “It’s past time to right this injustice and provide our parole officers, injured in the line of duty, with the same protections as other law-enforcement officers,” Kent said. “I urge PEF members to phone the governor’s office at 518-474-8390 and ask him to call for and sign the Parole Officers Workplace Parity Bill into law. By SHERRY HALBROOK