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Cop Honored For Saving 5-Year-Old From Attack By Rabid Coyote In Westchester

A police officer from the area received a prestigious honor after coming to the rescue of a 5-year-old girl being attacked by a rabid coyote.

Coyotes.

Coyotes.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced that Irvington police officer Arcangelo Liberatore was one of 19 people being celebrated with the Carnegie Medals of Heroism.

In April last year, Liberatore was off-duty at a playground in Thornwood when he heard 5-year-old Natalia Petrellese screaming and saw the animal attacking. Liberatore was able to get the animal to release its grip on the child and managed to pin it to the ground while the girl and her mother ran safely away.

Liberatore continued to struggle with the coyote until assisting officers arrived at the scene and were forced to shoot it. Both Liberatore and the girl were treated for minor injuries and received rabies treatment as a precaution.

The Hero Fund Commission was founded by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It has awarded more than $40 million to 10,000 heroes and their families since 1904.

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