Stamford Police Association Names Officer of the Year

Veteran Officer Michael Longo has been named the 2014 Stamford Police Association’s Officer of the Year.

Longo is a 20-year veteran of the department having spent his first 11 years patrolling the streets of Stamford. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Special Investigations Unit, which encompasses the Juvenile Division and the Domestic Violence Unit, considered to be one of the busiest units in the department.

Longo is a senior investigator who works child abuse and sexual assault cases. These are all highly confidential cases which rarely, if ever, get publicized. As a senior investigator, Longo also trains new police officers assigned to the unit. In 2014, Longo solved 91 investigations, with 16 of those being sex assaults, resulting in approximately 45 arrests, according to the union.

Longo also is one of four Stamford officers who helped create Stamford’s online platform aimed at catching child sex offenders. In the years that Longo was involved with the program from 2008 – 2012, a total of 24 sex offender cases were solved. Today, the online sting operation is managed by the forensic investigative unit.

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Longo has been instrumental in the interview and interrogation process of catching offenders with an aim of online enticement of children for sexual purposes. He and the Special Investigations Unit also work with numerous other jurisdictions in Connecticut, including the Connecticut Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and other state agencies.

“I work on a side of policing that much of the public is unaware of, but is crucial in this modern technology era to the safety and health of our children,” Longo said in a statement. “I and my fellow officers are focused on catching predators before they strike innocent children or prevent them from becoming further victimized. I am proud of the major achievements this division and the officers assigned to it have made.”

President of the Stamford Police Association Todd Lobraico said, “I am honored to have Police Officer Michael Longo and our fellow officers working night and day to catch sex predators and keep our city’s children from becoming victims.” Lobraico added, “Stamford is consistently named as one of the safest cities in the nation for the very reason that we have deeply committed officers like Michael Longo who wear our badge and uniform.”

The officers will receive their awards at the Stamford Police Association Annual Awards Dinner on Friday evening, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at Giovanni’s in Darien. Tickets are available by calling Lobraico at 203-357-1112.

Contributed photo: Stamford Police Officer Michael Longo.