Stephen Reidy is Rockville Centre's 2010 Cop of the Year

Rockville Centre Police Officer Stephen Reidy was chosen as the Village Police Department’s 2010 “Cop of the Year.” Last year, Reidy led the patrol force with 20 arrests.

“He’s an outstanding officer and a self-starter,” said Police Commissioner Charles Gennario. “He’s got a tremendous interest in the job and he’s always looking to learn.”

Reidy has been on the village force for three years, and he has earned the “Cop of the Month” distinction multiple times since joining the department.

Last year, Reidy distinguished himself during two notable incidents. On Aug. 20, he tried to stop a speeding car but the driver drove east on Muirfield Road with a passenger riding inside. Reidy was able to arrest the car’s passenger, Michael Opperman, after the car struck a mailbox and street sign on Milburn Street and came to a rest on the front lawn of a residence.

Afterwards, Reidy established a perimeter with other police units to help capture the driver who fled the scene. The driver, Arshard Panchu, was eventually arrested with the help of Reidy, and a subsequent investigation determined that the car used by the two men had been stolen from a Park Place residence moments before the officer spotted it.

The two men arrested that evening were charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, both felonies punishable up to seven years in prison.

Police Commissioner Chuck Gennario commended Officer Reidy for his “diligence, dedication to duty and highly professional conduct” for assisting in these arrests.

On Nov. 22, 2010, Reidy also participated in another notable arrest when he and fellow Rockville Centre Police Officer Scott Hockney responded to an audible burglar alarm on Allen Road that evening. Hockney looked through a window of the residence and saw a man inside carrying a large bag and heading toward the rear of the house. Reidy ran to the backyard and stopped the man as he was trying to escape. The suspect resisted arrest and Hockney joined Reidy, who used his taser to subdue the man, after he attempted to grab Hockney’s firearms. Both officers were slightly injured during the arrest.

The suspect was charged with burglary, resisting arrest and attempted robbery. He had an extensive arrest record with a lengthy history of violent offenses, Gennario said.

“Reidy will probably run this job [as commissioner] sometime within the next 20 years,” the commissioner said. “He’s a wonderful guy and an outstanding employee.”

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