New Police Officers Welcomed In New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Seventy-seven police recruits graduated Friday from the Westchester County Police Academy and are headed off to work at 15 law enforcement agencies in Westchester and one in Putnam County.

The new officers, who completed 20 weeks of training at the police academy in Valhalla, received their diplomas before a packed house at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center.

County Executive George Latimer, Deputy County Executive Kenneth Jenkins, Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason and Westchester District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. presented the graduates of the 148th Session Basic Police Recruit Class with their diplomas and congratulated them for mastering the physical and academic demands of the Academy.

Gleason noted that the recruit school curriculum is constantly updated to reflect the challenges police officers face in today’s world. He said they were well prepared for whatever might come their way and he urged them to always be focused on improving the lives of people they serve and protect.

“It will not be the rank you achieve, or the size of the pension you collect, that will be measure of how you did when your retirement comes. It will be this: did I leave things better than I found them? Is my department stronger, and is my community better, because of my service? Did I make a difference in someone’s life? Your goal from day 1 is to be able to say yes to those questions when the time comes,” Gleason said.

He thanked the Academy staff, class advisors and visiting instructors for their hard work in helping the recruit class to succeed. He urged the recruits to rely on their training and remember what drew them to choose a career in law enforcement.

“If you stay true to your ideals, and do what you know in your heart is the right thing, you will be able to put your head on the pillow at night knowing that you did this difficult and demanding job to the best of your ability,” Gleason said.

The new New Rochelle officers are currently in In-Service Training and will be out on the streets soon.

They are: Probationary Police Officers Tina Morzello, Thomas Hanigan, Joshua Garcia, Ricardo Medina, Michael Jellen and Christopher Braun.