That alone would qualify him for hero status. But add in the fact that he walks with a prosthetic leg – the legacy of a harrowing motorcycle accident four years ago – and there's no question that Whartenby is the ideal recipient of the Arc Mercer's 2015 Community Hero Award.
If you were to ask Officer Robert Whartenby why he gets up every morning and goes to work, he'd probably look at you as though you were crazy.
It's what I do, the Hamilton patrolman would likely tell you with a shrug: serving on the department's anti-crime unit with the goal of rooting out violent crimes and gang activity.
That alone would qualify him for hero status. But add in the fact that he walks with a prosthetic leg - the legacy of a harrowing motorcycle accident four years ago - and there's no question that Whartenby is the ideal recipient of the Arc Mercer's 2015 Community Hero Award.
The Aktion Club, a Kiwanis chapter that recruits people with development, cognitive and other disabilities to provide community service, will present the award at its fall gala Friday evening.
The Oct. 2011 accident on Whitehorse-Mercerville Road broke Whartenby's pelvis and his nose, and severed his left leg about 4 inches below the knee. What it didn't break was his spirit.
Throughout three weeks in the trauma unit at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, throughout the rigorous physical therapy regimens and the ordeal of learning to walk again, first on crutches for six months and then with the newly fitted prosthetic leg, throughout that long autumn and winter, Whartenby says he knew he'd return to the policing work that sustained him.
MORE: Hamilton cop with leg amputation named 'Officer of the Year'
"For 10 years, I loved going there every day," he told NJ Advance Media in an interview earlier this year. "Not having that ability for six months bothered me."
Rather than leaving him embittered, the experience left Whartenby with a strong desire to advocate on behalf of others.
Today, he works with a support group for amputees at the St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center in Lawrence, and has been active in starting a peer mentorship program through the Amputee Coalition of America.
In addition, he speaks out for amputees whenever he can, including convincing an assessment officer in Atlantic City to clear the way for one of the city's officers to return to duty after a leg amputation.
In April, the Hamilton Kiwanis Club cited Whartenby as its annual Officer of the Year, an award given to officers who show exemplary service both within the police division and in the broader community.
Nowadays, we throw around the term "hero" with little discretion: the batter who hits the winning home run, the latest winner of "Dancing with the Stars."
But in his quiet way, the young cop with the prosthetic leg is the truest definition of the word. He's no attention-seeker, but he deserves all the accolades coming his way.