The New Windsor Police Department celebrated its 37th Town of New Windsor Police Department Annual Awards Ceremony at Kristi Babcock Memorial Park on Wednesday, May 18 joined by town residents, town officers and families and other guests.

The ceremony started with the New Windsor Police Department Color Guard presenting the colors along with the playing of Amazing Grace by Officer Jason Ross on the bagpipes.

New Windsor Police Chief Robert Doss first acknowledged distinguished guests present that included Town Supervisor George Meyers, town board members Eve Lincoln, Sylvia Santiago, Steve Moreau and Stephen Bedetti and Town Clerk Kelly Allegra. Special guest of the police chief was World War II veteran Walter Milliken who worked for the police department for many years.

Beginning the ceremony, Meyers first thanked the building and grounds team and the police department for the work they did to set up this event. Meyers followed with several words of reflection and gratitude for the work done by the police department here in New Windsor.

“I appreciate everything that they [the police department] do. I certainly appreciate the chief and his command staff,” said Meyers. “I am very happy to be the town supervisor, to be working with Chief Doss and his people. Congratulations to those of you who get the awards, you deserve them.”

Doss recognized town officers and civilians for their work and service to the police department during the course of the previous year. Several officers were awarded multiple times and recognized for their work. Work done by the department included arrests for weapons and drugs, arrests for DWIs, investigative work and for the handling of various emergency situations.

Two Life Saving Awards were given out during the course of the evening. The first was for Officer Maria Schettini who assisted in the saving of, at the time, six-month old Liam Rossicone. The incident occurred on the morning of September 2, 2021 where Liam was choking on baby food he had eaten.

Schettini arrived on the scene, took Liam from his mother and quickly patted his back to which Liam started crying again and opened his eyes. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation and returned home the same day.

Now, 15-month-old Liam was joined by his parents Sylvia and Daniel Rossicone as Officer Schettini was presented her award.“I was just doing my job. It could have gone completely different but I’m very happy that it worked out the way it did,” Schettini said. “Liam is adorable.” “If it weren’t for Officer Schettini’s quick action and hitting him on the back the way that she did, he [Liam] wouldn’t have been here,” Sylvia said.
The second award was for an incident that occurred on the evening of December 27, 2021, where Detective Francis Pierri and Officer Brian McLean responded to the Drake residence. Michael Drake was found by the officers unconscious and not breathing. Neighbor Barbara McLaughlin, who was already present on scene, assisted the two officers in the performance of CPR for over four minutes. New Windsor Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene and were able to regain a pulse for Drake through a combined effort. Drake remained in the hospital for several days and returned home. “I’m just thankful that Mike is standing here,” McLaughlin said. “I’m just so happy that everything turned out good.”

“I’m just so glad that the police officers of New Windsor are great people. They heard the call and they came to my rescue and here I am today to talk about it,” Drake said.

Detective Francis A. Pierri, a fourth generation officer and an eight year member of the department, received the Officer of the Year Award for 2021. He shared that he felt very accomplished by his work done in the department and was grateful for the recognition.

“We’re [the police department] here to serve, we enjoy what we do, we enjoy this community, we know that this community supports us no matter what the issue,” Pierri said. “We enjoy being able to go out there everyday and make sure that this is a safe and healthy community to live in.”

Here are the New Windsor Police Department Award Ceremony winners for 2021:

Officer of the Year for 2021: Detective Francis A. Pierri

Life Saving Awards: Detective Francis A. Pierri, Officer Brian P. McLean and Officer Maria G. Schettini.

Excellent Police Duty Award: Detective Sergeant Christopher J. Sager, Detective John R. Vasta, Detective Kevin P. Moore, Detective Francis A. Pierri (who received five awards)

Honorable mention: Detective Sergeant Christopher J. Sager, Detective Alexander S. Ragni (received two awards), Detective John R. Vasta, Detective Francis A. Pierri, Officer Joseph V. Bell (received two awards), Officer Jason J. Ross, Officer Hardy K. Pierce, Officer Ryan S. Sussman (received two awards), Officer Brian P. Levy (received three awards) and Officer Anthony Vega.

Unit Citation Award: Detective Sergeant Christopher J. Sager, Sergeant William H. Ruger Jr., Sergeant Matthew G. Frankl, Detective Peter J. Wicker, Detective Alexander S. Ragni, Detective Kevin P. Moore, Detective Francis A. Pierri, Officer Michael F. Masopust, Officer Jason J. Ross, Officer Jeremy J. Arcaro, Officer Bryan J. Lubarsky, Officer Steven J. Bohr, Officer Rafael Santiago and Officer Anthony Vega.

Special Recognition Award: Investigator Angela R. Wood – NYSP EAP Program, Senior ADA Michael Milza – Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Detective Ricardo Rivera – City of Newburgh Police Dept. and Officer Brian McLean & K9 Sato.

Civilian Award: Dispatcher Daniel L. Bennet, Fire Inspector Francis Bedetti, Leif Syvertsen of LeifSigns LLC and Barbara McLaughlin.