Officers Graduate From County Police Academy, 4 Headed To Pelham Manor

PELHAM MANOR, NY — The Westchester County Police Academy graduated 45 police recruits May 26. They are headed to work at 22 law enforcement agencies in Westchester and beyond. The new officers, who completed 20 weeks of training at the police academy in Valhalla, received their diplomas during a ceremony at SUNY Purchase.

Four graduates will be working for the Pelham Manor police.

County Executive Robert P. Astorino addressed the graduates of the 143nd Session Basic Police Recruit Class and praised them for mastering the physical and academic demands of the Academy. He also spoke about the significant counter-terrorism training the recruits received and cited the recent terror attack at a concert overseas, according to a spokesman.

“As we come together today to celebrate the success of these new officers, we are also mindful of the horrific events that occurred just days ago in England,” Astorino said.

“The Manchester terror attack is a sobering reminder of the threats we face in a free and open society. It also reminds us that the counter-terrorism training we provide is so vitally important — and that it must continually evolve and grow,” he said.

Astorino said the recruit-school curriculum is constantly updated to reflect the challenges police officers face in today’s world, noting that training in active shooter incidents and crisis intervention has been expanded at the police academy.

Commissioner George N. Longworth reminded the graduates that they were entering law enforcement following a deadly year for police offices nationwide.

“In 2016, 145 police officers nationwide died in the line of duty – up from 113 in all of 2015. But most disturbing was the 56 percent increase in the number of officers killed by gunfire,” he said.

“It is difficult to hear these things at a time of celebration, on a day when we want you to know how proud we are of you,” Longworth said. “But we cannot send you from the Police Academy to our streets without a candid reminder of the times we live in. The good news, however, is this: you have received the best training there is. You are prepared to handle whatever might come your way.”

The new officers and their departments are:

Westchester

• Bedford: Christopher Colello
• Dobbs Ferry: Robert Marron, Justin Muscarella
• Eastchester: Kyle Park
• Elmsford: Andrew O’Mara
• Greenburgh: Anthony Marzella, John Pilla III, Kristin Stein
• Mount Vernon: Joel Adao, Brian Burrell
• New Rochelle: Ricardo Almeida, Christian Bautista, Steven Conn, Victoria Ferraro, Oisin McGloin, Richard Rolo, Anthony Scarnati
• Mount Pleasant: Ryan Connick, Conor Elliott
• Ossining: Antonio DaCruz
• Pelham Manor: Thomas Murphy, Nicholas Schwartz, Robert Vogel, Justin Wilder
• SUNY Purchase: John Broughal, Danny David, Omar Oviedo, Amanda Rothenbucher
• Scarsdale: Victoria Wanderman
• White Plains: Jose Betancourt, Todd Horgan, Edward Murphy, Lisa O’Shea, Juan Santa, Desmond Smith
• Yonkers: David Gaffney
• Yorktown: John Battista
• Westchester District Attorney’s Office: James Ossipov

Other agencies

• Garden City: Sean Carrera
• Port Washington: Jaime Arias, Brandon Wilson
• Sands Point: James Nolan
• SUNY New Paltz: Derek Grant
• SUNY College of Optometry: Johnny Guillaume
• Rockville Centre: Sean Freely

Photo credit: Westchester County