Captain James Bernier and Community Services Officer Theresa Velez were recently honored by the Association of Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Hartford and Congregation Ados Israel at Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford’s annual meeting.  Both Capt. Bernier and Officer Velez were instrumental in the investigation and apprehension of the three vandals who desecrated close to 100 headstones in the city’s North End in the fall of 2012. In addition, Captain James Bernier, who has since retired from the department, went above and beyond the call of duty in arranging for an entire crew of men from Paganelli Construction, who donated their time and equipment, to re-erect a 6,000-pound stone that had been toppled.

Pictured here: Association of Jewish Cemeteries Vice-Chair Henry M. Zachs (far left) and Jeffrey Bergen (far right), along with Leonard Holtz of Congregation Ados Israel (second from left) present an award of appreciation to Hartford Police (Retired) Captain James Bernier and Officer Theresa Velez.