Slatington officer Sgt. David Alercia was honored Monday evening at the Slatington Borough council meeting for his role in apprehending an armed suspect on Aug. 1.

“We are so grateful to have courageous officers like Sgt. David Alercia, who confronted an extremely dangerous situation and put an end to it with good judgment that he was able to exercise while managing a harrowing scenario,” said Slatington Council President Bryon Reed.

According to police reports, Adam M. Zaborowski, 35, a resident of Slatington, was at Cigar International in Bethlehem Township on July 31 when he became angered about the requirement to wear a mask in the store. He allegedly took two cigars and walked out.

When the clerk approached him about the cigars, he allegedly shot a semi-automatic weapon in the air once and then twice at the clerk. Then he fled the scene.

An arrest warrant was issued Friday afternoon by police investigator Edward Fox III. Court records listed the charges against Zaborowski as attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of robbery, possession of a firearm when prohibited, firearms not to be carried without a license, and recklessly endangering another person. He had been barred from possessing a firearm due to a previous aggravated assault case, police reported.

The next morning, Slatington police and state police troopers were monitoring Zaborowski’s residence on Main Street in Slatington, according to police. The Lehigh County Municipal Emergency Response Team was to serve the arrest warrant, but the suspect left his house and got into his truck before the warrant could be served. The police tried to stop him at Second and East Washington streets. That’s when the suspect got out of his truck and fired shots at the police officers.

In accounts of the events read by Reed at the ceremony, Alercia’s squad car took the brunt of the bullets from an AK-47 operated by the suspect. The position of his squad car protected the other officers and residents in the area. He was shot in the right arm, but was able to fire shots back at the suspect and was able to assist state police in the apprehension of Zaborowski.

Alercia said the bullet came through the windshield and grazed his right arm, lodging in the cruiser about 6 inches from where his head was resting. He also sustained loss of hearing from the sounds of the shooting within his car, and badly twisted his knee escaping the heavy fire on his vehicle.

“I never looked at it, nor do I still to this day look at it like I could have died that day, but at the same time, in reality, someone else looking in, I guess I was very close to death that day,” Alercia said in an interview.

An officer with the Slatington Borough Police for 18 years, Alercia said his police training, Lehigh County Municipal Emergency Response Team training and training as a U.S. Marine all played a role in his success that day.

“Absolutely,” he said. “(The training) helped me to prevail and do my job that day.”

Alercia was presented with seven awards with speeches from local dignitaries thanking him for his courage and fortitude when it was needed to protect the community.

Certificates were presented to him by Rep. Zach Mako; state Sens. Patrick Browne, Mario Scavello and Lisa Boscola and U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey’s office; a proclamation from County Executive Phil Armstrong; a presentation from County Commissioner Marc Grammes; a proclamation presented by Slatington Mayor Walter Niedermeyer and Council President Reed; and a Slatington Police Department Medal of Valor presented by Slatington Police Chief David Rachman.

“Sgt. Dave Alercia is a true hero and validates the police adage - Slatington’s finest,” Reed said. “We are grateful and honored to have him as part of our community.”

“I’m happy for the support I received,” Alercia said. “At the same time, I feel like I was doing my duty and my job and nothing no other police officer would have done that day.”