Cop of the Month: Officer William Camancho

As part of the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Officer William Camancho’s job is to keep drugs off the street. But he and his team have also been keeping quite a few guns off the street.

On behalf of the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Camancho was honored as January’s Cop of the Month for a December arrest that brought yet one more firearm out of the 77th Precinct.

Camancho was on patrol at the intersection of Lincoln Place and Schenectady Avenue  when he saw a teen engaged in a minor offense. As he got out of his patrol car to talk to him, the guy took off, throwing drugs away as he ran, said Deputy Inspector Elvio Capocci.

With a "total disregard for their own safety," Camancho went after him, said Capocci.

After "a chase, a fight and a struggle," Camancho manages to get a hold of the teen’s gun.

"No injuries, no shots fired, a gun recovered, drugs recovered (and a) pretty extensive criminal record on the perpetrator, so it was a nice arrest,” said Capocci.

Capocci praised the work of the entire Street Narcotics Enforcement.

“They’re doing a bang up job for us,” he said.

“Their main goal has always been narcotics, but in the last 12 months they’ve been bringing guns in better than our guys who specialize in guns. This really should be a team award.”

This is Camancho's third Cop of the Month Award. An NYPD officer for the past eight years, Camancho lives in East Elmhust, Queens with his wife and 2-year-old child.

Camancho said the award made him feel "great."

"We don't do it for this, but it's awayls nice to get honored," he said.

Congratulations for a job well done.