18 Graduate From Rockland Police Academy

Eighteen members of the Rockland County Police and Public Safety Academy Class 1-2011 graduated Friday morning in a ceremony at the county's Fire Training Center in Pomona.

The program teaches students about firearms, defense tactics and other skills necessary to become a police officer. The classes at the Rockland County Police Academy meet the state-mandated requirements for police, so some come up to Rockland from New York City agencies to take their classes.

The graduates have just completed 20 weeks of class work, and now they will have to undergo 160 hours of supervised field training alongside a veteran officer.

The ceremony featured several speakers, starting with Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, who said that the police profession requires great courage, as officers must face danger head on rather than flee from it as others may want to do. Still, he said, respect needs to be earned in the profession.

“You’re given a profession that garners a great deal of respect,” Zugibe said. “But remember one thing. You’re not entitled to the respect simply because you pin a badge on. It’s respect that you have to earn every single day in your profession.”

Gordon Wren Jr., director of Fire and Emergency Services for Rockland County, then discussed the difficult training regimens the recruits had to endure in order to graduate. This year, he noted, was particularly challenging with the graduates doing work outside during the cold winter. He then added that the recruits need to keep themselves in top physical condition over the years.

“For some of you, you’re probably in the best condition of your life right now, best physical condition.,” Wren said. "And I encourage you to keep that up. […] If you can maintain that level of fitness through your career, it will give you a lot of advantages.”

The keynote speaker for the graduation was Chief Louis Falco III from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department's Patrol Division. Falco is a graduate of the Rockland County Police Academy and is currently running for sheriff in the Democratic Party primary.

In his speech, Falco discussed the various changes that crime-fighting has undergone in recent years, from the increased emphasis on fighting terrorism to improvements in forensic sciences. He then gave some advice to both the recruits and their loved ones.

“We cannot afford to become complacent,” Falco told the graduates. “The law enforcement profession is one of the most demanding and self-sacrificing professions of our society. To be successful, you must formulate a sincere inner-operability between law enforcement, EMS, fire service, and the communities in which we serve. Communication and cooperation is the key to our success.”

Falco continued by emphasizing that loved ones need to stand by these new officers, even during the difficult times.

“I’m sorry to say that you as families, there has been no training,” he said. “And some parts of these professions that lie ahead are quite difficult and challenging, such as working nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays, sporting events for your children. And this is going to span over the life of their career. And we need to stand by them, and you need to say to yourself, that they’re there protecting you, wherever you are, and other good people in their community.”

The students had a speaker of their own, James Tesseyman, who addressed the crowd toward the end of the ceremony. He mentioned plenty of the inside jokes his classmates had developed throughout their training together, but at the end he turned serious when discussing the nature of their duty.

“Leadership means not just doing things right, but doing the right thing,” Tesseyman said. “It means you have to do what is hard and set an example. All of us in public service have a responsibility to not just carry the title but to be worthy of it. We must show resolve and determination in everything we do. We must also resolve conflict, because as law enforcement officers, the public will look to us for resolution. We must take action when others won’t and always remember that mistakes can be costly.”

The ceremony also featured a tribute to Detective John Falcone, who was a member of the Poughkeepsie Police Department and also a graduate of the Rockland Police Academy. Falcone was killed in the line of duty this past February while rescuing a young girl from her father, who had just shot and killed his wife.

Most of the graduates of the program have already been hired by certain police departments or district attorney offices but need to complete the training before starting work. One of these is Scott Neuendorf, who will work for the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department. His grandfather, William, was a police officer in New York City, and Scott wanted to follow in his footsteps as a way to give back to the community and make it a better home for his family.

“It’s a relief,” Neuendorf said about his graduation. "It was a great time, a great experience. But it’s still a long road ahead of me, and a lot of challenges await.”

Other graduates, like Selena Dennis, will be working as investigators in district attorney offices. Dennis came up from Harlem every day for her classes in Rockland, and she will be working for Bronx DA’s office.

“The training was very helpful, because if you are not team-oriented beforehand you become team-oriented,” Dennis said of her time at the Police Academy. “We practice a lot of joint things, and you’ve kind of got to count on your counterparts to help you through, so it was a very interesting time for me.”

Four of the 18 graduates were part of the Rockland Community College Pre-Employment Program, which provides some of the mandated training before a person is actually hired by a local police department. Once these student are hired they will have fewer training hours to complete before they can start working.

Two other graduates besides the 18 completed police equivalency training. These graduates had completed basic training in the past but had been away from the job for more than four years. Thus before they could take a new job as a police officer they had to undergo proficiency exams in several different areas. Those who fail one or more of these tests must take basic school classes in those particular areas before starting their new jobs.

The following is the list of graduates from Rockland County Police Academy Recruit Class 1-2011 along with where they will be working (if applicable):

AMTRAK Police:

Wesley Fontana

Lenworth Fullterton

Danielle Goldberger

Matthew Greenberg

Anthony Hopkins

Matteo Siciliano

Bronx District Attorney’s Office:

Selena Dennis

Danny Lim

Caleb Ruffo

NY County District Attorney’s Office:

Veronica Rodriguez

Rockland County Sheriff’s Department- Civil Division:

Jared Rudnick

Rockland County Sheriff’s Department:

Louis DiLonardo III

Joseph Galvin

Scott Neuendorf

RCC Pre-Employment Program:

John Barton Jr.

Michael Montalvo

James Tesseyman

David Yates

Police Equivalency Courses:

Bronx District Attorney’s Office:

Joseph McCallion

NY County District Attorney’s Office:

Richard Brittson

This is a list of the award recipients for the graduating class:

The Academic Achievement Award, given to the recruit with the highest academic average. A tie is broken by determining who had the fewest number of demerits:

Veronica Rodriguez

The Excellence in Firearms Award, given to the recruit who shows the most proficiency with firearms, determined by scores and instructor evaluation:

Matteo Siciliano  

The Excellence in Defensive Tactics Award, given to the recruit who shows the most proficiency in defense tactics according to the defense tactics staff:

Caleb Ruffo

The Excellence in Physical Fitness Award, given to the recruit who reaches the highest level of fitness based on a certain percentile. In the case of a tie the award goes to the recruit closest the 100 percentile for his or her age and sex:

Veronica Rodriguez

The Val Swartwout Memorial Award for Excellence, given to the recruit who shows the most proficiency in Emergency Medical Care:

Louis DiLonardo III

The School Director’s Award, given to the recruit who assists his or her fellow recruits and the academy as a whole, allowing the class to reach a higher level of professionalism or achievement:

Matteo Siciliano

The Police Officer Jason D. Conklin Memorial Award, given to the recruit who like Conklin promotes camaraderie and teamwork:

Anthony Hopkins

The Police Officer Jason D. Conklin Memorial Scholarship. Conklin graduated from Rockland County Police Academy in 1997 and was killed two months later in a car accident while on duty. He was pursuing a speeding vehicle at the time:

James Tesseyman

The Physical Fitness Instructors Award:

Danny Lim