Philadelphia Police Officer Randy Vogt was the big winner at the monthly meeting of the 7th Police District Advisory Council on May 16 as he was named the district’s newest Officer of the Month and Officer of the Year.
Vogt shared the monthly award with his partner, Officer Alfred Fiorentino, and was chosen over three other nominees for the annual award, which recognizes his job performance throughout 2012. Vogt was named Officer of the Month once in 2012 after he and Fiorentino made two notable arrests in November.
On Nov. 1, the two officers went to an apartment building on the 9100 block of Old Newtown Road in response to a report of a person with a gun. A woman greeted them and complained that another woman, her neighbor, had threatened her and her 15-month-old child with a gun.
At the scene, Vogt and Fiorentino also noticed a disturbance inside the accused woman’s apartment. When they investigated, the woman denied having a gun, but a man in the apartment directed the officers to a .380-caliber pistol and two magazines of live ammunition. The officers arrested the woman for aggravated assault and weapons violations.
About two weeks later, on Nov. 14, Vogt and Fiorentino captured an armed robbery suspect shortly after he allegedly held up two Northeast stores.
After visiting the second crime scene, Vogt and Fiorentino were surveying the surrounding area in a patrol vehicle when they spotted a bicyclist matching a description of the robber. He was at Grant Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard. When the officers tried to stop him, the suspect reached for his belt area. The officers wrestled him to the ground and recovered a BB gun from him.
Later, the suspect admitted to both robberies as well as three earlier heists at a local pharmacy and two restaurants.
Vogt and Fiorentino earned the latest Officer of the Month recognition after they captured an armed burglary suspect red-handed on April 19.
That evening, a woman on the 2200 block of Fuller St. saw suspicious activity at the unoccupied home of a neighbor, so she called the neighbor to warn him. When the homeowner got home, his back door had been pried open and portable safe removed from the house. The safe’s door had been opened and a 9-millimeter pistol removed from it.
The victim contacted police who arrived at the scene at about 9:22 p.m. They spotted a suspicious man in an alley behind the house, crouching with a bag in his hands. Seeing police, the man ran, then got onto a bicycle and continued to flee. When Vogt and Fiorentino caught up with him on the 7900 block of Eastwood St., he was still wearing a black mask over his face. The officers searched the man and found two handguns, including the stolen pistol. He was charged with burglary and related offenses. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215–354–3031 or [email protected]
