Mayor James J. Fiorentini (left) presented Haverhill resident Johnny Giarrusso with a citation on Monday, Aug. 27. (WHAV News photograph)
Mayor James J. Fiorentini Monday honored Haverhil’s own Johnny Giarrusso for his live-saving heroics during a Seabrook Beach rescue earlier this month in New Hampshire.
Presenting the four-year Seabrook Police officer with a citation for his quick thinking, Fiorentini praised Giarrusso for “putting his life on the line to save others.”
“Thank you for your service. Your hometown is very proud of you,” Fiorentini told Giarrusso as his wife Jaimie, 11-year-old daughter Alyssa, 9-year-old son Giovanni and 7-year-old nephew Jax, along with his mother Ann-Marie Giarrusso, looked on during the City Hall ceremony.
On August 19, Giarrusso was on patrol with fellow Seabrook officer Zach Bunszell during the area’s Old Home Days when he heard the screams of beachgoer Matt Tomaszewski’s wife. The woman was trying to get the attention of passersby to assist her husband, who was attempting to rescue swimmers caught in a rip tide.
Three people had made it back by the time Giarrusso shed his gear, grabbed a paddleboard and headed into the water. The 42-year-old officer worked alongside Tomaszewski in an effort to locate Methuen man Michael Cote. Cote and his wife, Laura, were both unconscious when they were pulled from the water. The pair later died after being transported to area hospitals.
A longtime patron of Seabrook Beach, Giarrusso told WHAV he had never seen surf so rough during this time of year. “It was a tough day,” said the first responder. “I just did what I thought was right.”
Though Giarrusso admitted to WHAV recent accolades are “awkward,” his family could not be more proud of their hero.
“He’s so humble and it was a group effort,” Ann-Marie Giarrusso told WHAV. “Thank God for good people.”