National Police Week

MOUNT VERNON – Mayor Richard Thomas, city officials and actor Chuck Zito honored officers of the Mount Vernon Police Department on May 14th, 2019 as part of a National Police Week observance.

Mayor Thomas congratulated the city’s police officers for their crime reduction efforts.

“Their tremendous work is truly paying off,” said Mayor Thomas, referring to the department’s work in the face of rising violence around nationally and around the world. “In Mount Vernon, that tide has receded….It has receded because of hard work from our partners in the FBI Safe Streets, our partnership with Westchester County, our partnership with New York State. Our partnership with each other in the community. We’ve been able to attack crime at its core, filling that void with different things for kids.”

The fall in crime is documented in Mount Vernon’s Uniform Crime Reports. For example, serious crimes including grand larceny, burglary, aggravated assaults and robberies fell from a reported 1,350 incidents in 2011 to 918 in 2017, a 32% decline.

In December, Mayor Thomas announced that shootings in the city had been cut almost in half in 2018.

· Total shootings were down 42%; from 52 in 2017 to 30 in 2018.

· Shootings that resulted in injuries were down 50%; from 24 in 2017 to 12 in 2018.

· Shootings with no injuries were down 36%; 26 in 2017 to 18 in 2018.

Mount Vernon’s anti-violence options include after-school programs that touch on art and engineering, as well as supervised play and sports activities.

The event in the City Council Chambers included the distribution of dozens of awards in six categories ranging from certificates of merit to meritorious police duty.

During his remarks Mayor Thomas commended police Officer Luis Odar, who was recently seen on Facebook getting knocked to the street by a suspect. Mayor Thomas congratulated Officer Odar for his training and for not allowing the assault to escalate.

“Instead of choosing extreme force, he chose extreme restraint. It could have been a lose-lose situation, a loss of life,” said Mayor Thomas. “His training, his tenacity, his truth was to choose life, choose restraint. And for that the City of Mount Vernon thanks you.”

Actor Chuck Zito, best known for his portrayal of the mobster Chucky Pancamo in the television series “Oz,” attended because he is a family friend of MVPD Officer Joseph Valente, who received three awards.

“I’ve known him since he was born,” said Zito, noting that Valente’s mother recently died of cancer. “She couldn’t be here, so I’m taking her place.”

Zito will remain in Mount Vernon for the day and he will attend the Mount Vernon Rising extravaganza starting at 6 p.m. in City Hall plaza.

Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 and Police Week are observances in the United States that pay tribute to the local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty.