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New Rochelle honors fallen officers and presents 2024 department awards
Summary
New Rochelle held its 2024 police memorial and awards ceremony at the Green Tree Country Club, honoring officers who died in the line of duty and presenting awards for lifesaving actions, community engagement, investigations and civilian service. Mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert and Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola spoke.
New Rochelle paused to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to recognize personnel and residents who performed exemplary acts at the city's 2024 Police Memorial and Awards Ceremony at the Green Tree Country Club.
Mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert praised officers’ sacrifice and said their service strengthens the city. ‘‘You all make New Rochelle very proud,’’ she said, thanking officers, civilian staff and families for their dedication. Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola led an honor roll call naming past members who died in the line of duty and reviewed recent departmental dedications, including the naming of NRPD’s Marine 2 for officer Kathleen O’Connor Funigiello.
City Manager Wilfredo Melendez and other officials joined department leaders in presenting awards that recognize lifesaving actions, long service, investigative successes and community engagement. Organizers said the contest for the Police Memorial Essay Award drew 65 fifth-grade submissions; the winner read an essay about why police officers matter to young people.
Awards presented included community-engagement honors, lifesaving awards, combination and unit citations for investigative work, Class C citations for outstanding individual acts, and the Police Commissioner’s awards for exemplary performance. Recipients named during the ceremony included officers credited with arresting suspects in violent-crime and child-abuse investigations, dispatch and civilian staff honored for excellence, and teams recognized for multi‑agency investigations.
The ceremony closed with a benediction from Bishop Derek Pearson and an invitation from Captain Collins Coyne to join a post‑ceremony reception.
The event doubled as a memorial and an awards presentation, combining remembrance of fallen officers with public recognition of recent department achievements. The department said the ceremonies coincide with National Police Memorial Week and were intended both to honor sacrifice and to highlight community policing initiatives.
