Three Garden City Police Officers Sworn In Thursday

Trustee Dennis Donnelly, board liaison to the Garden City Police Department, sworn in three Garden City police officers at Thursday's village board meeting.

Appointed as of May 23, Officers Joseph Laurita, Jr., Frank Milito and Michael Punch are all graduates of the New York City Police Academy and were last assigned to the 83rd, 103rd and 73rd precincts, respectively.

• Officer Joseph Laurita, Jr., a seven-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, lives in Coram with his wife and child. Graduating from the New York City Police Academy in January 2003, Laurita was last assigned to the 83rd Precinct (Buschwick section of Brooklyn). He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the New York Institute of Technology.
• Officer Frank Milito, a two-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, resides in Hicksville. Graduating from the New York City Police Academy in December 2008, Milito was last assigned to the 103rd Precinct (Jamaica, Queens). He received a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Stony Brook.
• Officer Michael Punch, a six-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, resides in Wantagh. Graduating from the New York City Police Academy in July 2004, Punch was last assigned to the 73rd Precinct's Intelligence Unit (Brownsville section of Brooklyn). He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies from Hofstra University.

"You'll find that the group here in Garden City work very hard to deter crime. It's a very professional force. You'll get to meet the residents and know the residents. As you're around doing patrols, stop and say hello. We like friendly policemen," Donnelly said. "We have great leadership here in Garden City with Commissioner (Ernest) Cipullo and Inspector Kenny Jackson. But the most important thing is enjoy your job here in Garden City."

Commissioner Cipullo noted that because the board opted for more officers during budget talks, the department has the money but not the people.

"The last list we got from civil service had nine names," he said. "We sent letters to the nine people, five people never showed up and the four we did interview they declined us."

Cipullo said the department has asked civil service for a new list but nothing is available at this time. "We're not sure how quickly we're going to get anymore names," he said. "Trustee Donnelly made reference to the overtime. I just want the board to be aware that we're not going to be able to fill those spots so quickly. We will do the best we can to try and curb the overtime but I don't think we're going to eliminate it."

Donnelly suggested Mayor Robert Rothschild send a letter to civil service to "expedite" the process.

The mayor agreed and noted after the three officers were sworn in, "Getting some new police officers on board was very, very important to the board so we are very happy we were able to get you guys as quickly as we did."