Long Beach Selects Ronald Walsh As New Police Commissioner

LONG BEACH, NY — The City of Long Beach has selected Ronald Walsh, Jr., currently the chief of support for the Nassau County Police Department, as the new commissioner of the Long Beach Police Department.

Walsh was one of two people in the running for the position. The other candidate was Philip Ragona, a 34-year member of the LBPD who was serving as acting commissioner. Walsh is replacing former commissioner Michael Tangney, who retired earlier this year after a salary dispute with the city.

Walsh, 55, is a career employee of the NCPD, having served as a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant, detective lieutenant, captain, deputy inspector, inspector, deputy chief, assistant chief and now chief. His education, ongoing training and professional development, and broad experience in all operational and strategic phases of policing at NCPD, along with his masters degree in Public Administration made him a highly attractive candidate, the city said.

Candidates were initially screened by a panel of independent residents and law enforcement experts, who reduced the applicant pool down to four. The four remaining candidates were then interviewed and scored by the Long Beach City Council. The final two candidates were then interviewed by an outside consultant, which was live-streamed for public viewing.

“Ron really has an incredibly broad and successful professional profile, which makes him exceptionally qualified for this job,” said City Council President John Bendo. “But most important is that he is deeply committed to the kind of community-based policing and public safety that Long Beach deserves. Policing today is about listening, transparency, respect for the power and pride of diversity within our community, and having law enforcement partners who are committed to serving our community through inclusion practices that build consensus. The Council has high expectations of Chief Walsh and the Department and we are delighted to announce his appointment.”

Walsh is a Massapequa resident but has many family connections in Long Beach, where he spent much of his formative years and continues to summer here to this day. Long Beach also happens to be where Walsh began his law enforcement career, serving as an auxiliary police officer and as a ‘Summer Special,’ augmenting the policing effort on the boardwalk and Ocean Beach Park area.

“This is a bit of a homecoming, an incredible opportunity, and I’m honored that the city’s leaders believe in my vision for how policing must evolve in alignment with the community’s needs,” said Walsh. “I believe in progressive engagement, broad responsiveness to all concerns, and relationship building that starts with an earnest level of trust for one other. That’s where we must start, and it’s where we must stay to meet the quality-of-life goals we have as a community.”

Walsh’s starting salary for this non-contractual position will be $189,500. He will receive the same benefits package as other exempt employees.

Walsh has a bachelor of arts in Criminal Justice from Mansfield University and a masters of Public Information from Marist College. Special professional development experiences include two training stints at the FBI National Academy in Quantico; Advanced Training School with the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, DC; Police Executive Training with the New York City Police Department and Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston with the Police Executive Research Forum; and other policing training.

He also served as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University, the School of Emergency Management and as a consultant with Molloy College and also with Hofstra University, where he conducted student safety seminars for administrators and teachers. He was a member of the Board of Education in Locust Valley for nine years, serving for a time as the Board of Education President. He also spent five years as a member of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.