Retirements shake village police

“We came on when the Dead Sea was just sick,” Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Jack McKeon joked, referring to himself and Inspector Richard Fantry, executive officer of the department. “It was a long time ago.”

The officers’ long time together is finally coming to an end. On Oct. 28, both informed the village board of their plans to retire on Dec. 30. “We danced in the door together,” Fantry said. “We’ll dance out the door together.”

A legacy of service

McKeon and Fantry joined the village Police Department on the same day, Feb. 13, 1979. For both young men, who were fresh out of the Army at the time, the RVCPD was, at first, a way to go to college while still making a living.

“When I got out of the Army, I wanted to go to college,” Fantry said. “But I was an air conditioning/refrigeration mechanic. I was working six days, and I was working until too late in the day. As a cop back then, you could get split sessions of school. They gave the same class in the morning and then again at night. So I took advantage of that, joined the P.D., started going to college, and by the time I got four years of college under my belt, I was a detective and I loved it.”

Fantry said he wasn’t planning on staying with the police after he finished his schooling. His plan, he promised his wife, was to finish college and then get a “real job.” He started out in a liberal arts program, then moved over to criminal justice and graduated with a degree in psychology.

McKeon took a similar route to the P.D. —he had very little and was looking for a future. “I came here with no more than a high school education, was recently released from the Army, and was looking to build a life for myself,” he recounted. “And Rockville Centre gave me the chance and supported me in my growing education.”

While a member of the department, McKeon earned associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was also a member of the Army Reserves, and earned a truck driver’s license and a commercial pilot’s license. While with the police, McKeon joined the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, and was called to active duty to serve overseas after Sept. 11.