The Riverhead PBA held its annual installation and awards dinner last night at the Suffolk Theater on Main Street.
Police Officer Dan Hogan was honored as PBA cop of the year. Hogan recovered heroin and a gun under a mattress in an East Main Street apartment complex when he responded to a menacing complaint last June. His police work led to the conviction of known Bloods gang member, said PBA vice president John Morris.
Hogan, a veteran of the U.S. Army Rangers, 82d Airborne Division who served 27 months in Afghanistan, made 25 arrests in 2014, during his patrols of downtown Riverhead.
Police Officer Chris Parkin was honored as PBA member of the year. Parkin, who recently retired, transferred into the Riverhead Police Department from NYPD. He served as PBA vice president for many years and “did a phenomenal job for the PBA,” president Dixon Palmer said. “He was the face of the PBA.”
In addition to Parkin, retiring police officers Emil Breitenbach and Tim Hubbard were honored for their many years of service to the department.
“Collectively we lost almost 80 years of police service,” Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter noted.
Breitenbach, who joined the force in 1985, “always has a smile on his face” and is a good-natured man, Police Officer Dennis Cavanaugh said. He recounted the story of the new officer’s first patrol downtown, when, on Main Street, he “bumped into guys who had just robbed a bank in Jamesport.”
“We’re sorry to see Emil go,” Cavanaugh said, noting the department is “fortunate” to have retiring cop’s daughter, Melissa, work as a public safety dispatcher.
Breitenbach and Hubbard both spent their final years with the department as desk officers due to injuries.
“We’re going to miss you all,” Cavanaugh said.
PBA officers were sworn in by former chief of department Joseph Grattan, who noted that Friday marked 52 years since he entered the police academy. Taking the oath were: Dixon Palmer, president; John Morris, vice president; Rich Freeborn, secretary; Charles Nauceri, treasurer.
The town supervisor thanked the members of the police department for their “dedicated service to protect the people who live and work in Riverhead Town and the people who come to visit.”
“This is the finest police agency in Suffolk County and in the nation,” Walter said. “We appreciate your service and everything you do.”
Walter said he admired the police officers’ courage and willingness to risk their lives every day. He criticized “certain moronic politicians who don’t understand their [own] job,” which, he said, is “to politically protect” police officers.
“You protect us. The members of the PBA deserve no less than our political protection,” Walter said. “That means we have your back. We may not be in there with you, but this town board has your back.”
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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