Toms River cop honored after twice defying death

TOMS RIVER - In 2008, Officer Eric B. Harris fulfilled a lifelong dream: becoming a Toms River police officer.

On July 25, an emotional Harris said goodbye.

"This was my dream and I fulfilled my dream," said Harris, 37, during a retirement ceremony at town hall. "Considering the black cloud that follows me wherever I go ..."

He paused, looking at his wife, Christine, and his two daughters. "I kind of wanted to enjoy my family."

Harris, a 1998 graduate of Toms River High School South, spoke after receiving a valor award from the police department for his part in a confrontation in July 2016 with Timothy Sauers, then 29. The Ocean County Proseuctor's Office has said that Harris made a routine traffic stop on Haines Road of the Jeep Sauers was driving. Sauers got out of his vehicle and pointed a pellet gun at the officer.

"The lead officer yelled 'gun,' fell to the ground, drew and discharged his duty weapon while creating distance between himself and Sauers," according to Al DellaFave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. 

Watch: Toms River Officer Unger retires

Harris, Sgt. Timothy M. Sysol and Officer Lawrence N. DiFabio fired their duty weapons "in an attempt to protect themselves and ultimately took a defensive position" behind one of the police vehicles, the prosecutor's office said.

A wounded Sauers fled by diving into the nearby Toms River, police said. He was subsequently found, treated for his wounds, and has since recovered.

It wasn't the first time that Harris displayed courage on the job.

In 2005, when he was a 25-year-old Beachwood patrolman, he was critically injured when he was dragged more than 70 feet under a car after he attempted to stop two teenagers who had stolen the vehicle and driven it from Beachwood into a Berkeley adult community. 

Harris was trapped under the car for 12 minutes. The first officer on the scene was his father, Beachwood police Sgt. Bruce Harris, who used a car jack to free is son.

Harris underwent several surgeries, including two sets of skin grafts on both arms. He was able to return to work nine months later, and three years later, became a Toms River officer.

More: Toms River swears in new officers

The car's driver, Lawrence Henninger, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated assault on Harris and several other crimes. 

Harris, Sgt. Timothy M. Sysol and Officer Lawrence N. DiFabio fired their duty weapons "in an attempt to protect themselves and ultimately took a defensive position" behind one of the police vehicles, the prosecutor's office said.

A wounded Sauers fled by diving into the nearby Toms River, police said. He was subsequently found, treated for his wounds, and has since recovered.

Related:Meet Toms River's newest police officers

Sauers was charged with multiple offenses, including unlawful possession of a handgun, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

The prosecutor's office and the state Attorney General's Office determined that the officers were justified when they used deadly force against Sauers. 

More:Toms River invades Yankee Stadium for Todd Frazier debut

"Detective John Murphy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office interviewed Sauers and he explained that he was tired of his life and he wanted to end it. He acknowledged that he got out of the Jeep, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer in the hopes that they would shoot and kill him," Della Fave said last year. "He stated that the gun looked real and that he got it from his brother."

More:Toms River clerk's best work? A life-saving fence

The valor award is the highest honor the Toms River police department can bestow on an officer, according to police spokesman Ralph Stocco. It's given to officers who "display extraordinary courage in an extremely hazardous situation."

Officers Sysol and DiFabio received Class A commendations for their actions during the incident. The Class A award is the department's second-highest honor, given for the display of "a high degree of initiative, professionalism and courage in a hazardous situation."

All three officers previously received valor awards from The 200 Club of Ocean County, an organization that recognizes the service of police, firefighters and other first responders.

Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher presented Harris with a clock to mark his retirement.

"Obviously, he's always a member of our family," police Chief Mitchell Little said.

Officer William Resetar, who has worked previously for the Beach Haven, Deal and Neptune police departments, was sworn in July 25 as a Toms River police officer to replace Harris. 

Little said the Toms River department remains at 160 officers.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, jmikle@gannettnj.com