Suffolk’s Acting Police Commissioner To Retire Friday

YAPHANK, NY — Suffolk police’s Acting Commissioner Stuart Cameron will be feted on Friday by friends and colleagues as he takes his final steps through police headquarters in Yaphank on Friday before he retires after 37 years on the force.

Cameron worked his way up to chief of department, which is the highest-ranking uniformed member of the police force back in 2015. Prior to that, he served as both the assistant chief of patrol supervising the department’s patrol officers and as the chief of support services. He held the position of commissioner on two separate occasions since 2018, and more recently stepped into the role back in May after Geraldine Hart resigned for another position.

Cameron began his career on Feb. 25, 1985, and was assigned to the 2nd Precinct upon graduating from the academy, and rose through the ranks over the years. He became a captain in July 2000 and took over as the commanding officer of the Planning and Community Services Bureau. He moved to the Highway Patrol Bureau as the executive officer before spending a decade in the Special Patrol Bureau as both the executive and commanding officer one year later

He was honored in 2016 with the department’s Daniel P. Guido Leadership Award and was named the department’s Cop of the Year in 1990. He also earned Cop of the Month three times during his career along with numerous command and department recognitions.

New York Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison has been nominated to take over the role of police commissioner. If his appointment is approved by the Suffolk Legislature, he will be the first black police commissioner in Suffolk’s history.