Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NEW YORK, March 2 (UPI) -- The badge a New York police officer earned just three months ago saved his life when it shattered a knife wielded by a deranged drunk. Officer Stuart Ingram told the New York Daily News he's very grateful to the manufacturer of the nickel-alloy badge. Advertisement "Thanks for making it stronger than the knife," he said. Investigators say that the man who allegedly tried to stab Ingram began by trying to pull down a sign in front of St. Helen's Roman Catholic Church in Howard Beach. When neighbors tried to get Joseph Leonardi to stop, he allegedly got in his car and almost mowed down several pedestrians, including a Catholic nun. Witnesses said another neighborhood resident, Juan Valez, pushed Sister Hannah Marie Cox aside, saving her life. When Ingram, a recent Police Academy graduate, and his partner arrived on the scene, Leonardi allegedly lunged with a knife. But the blade hit Ingram's shield, shattering into several pieces.
