Kearns Promoted to Sergeant; Vasquez Sworn-in as Dispatcher

By Jennifer O’Connor

Warwick Police Officer Michael Kearns was promoted to Sergeant during the Town of Warwick Board meeting on Thurs., Feb. 25. Chief Tom McGovern led the brief promotion ceremony for Kearns whose family was also in attendance.

Chief McGovern spoke of Kearns dedication and commitment to the community and to the Police Department. Kearns, who joined the Warwick PD in 2008 from the Chester PD, has served as the Resource Officer at Warwick Valley High School for several years. He has a B.A. degree in Sociology from SUNY Cortland.

“We want to thank the men and women of the Police Department for what they do every day. We know that Sgt. Kearns will be a great addition to our command staff,” said Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton.

In addition to Kearns promotion, Isaac Vasquez was recently sworn-in as a Dispatcher for the Warwick PD. Chief McGovern said that Vasquez is bilingual and will be a great asset to the department and the community. Vasquez completed the first phase of the Police Academy and the Town plans to sponsor him for Phase 2 to become a part-time Warwick Police Officer.

During the meeting, Councilman Floyd DeAngelo, liaison to the Police Dept., read a letter he received via email from a resident praising two Warwick Police Officers – Nathaniel Petrosky and Derek Kerstner. On a snowy evening in February, the letter writer’s elderly mother showed the first major signs of dementia when she wandered off in her pajamas and slippers to a neighbor’s house. While at the neighbor’s house, she described a “burglary in progress.”

When the officer’s arrived at the neighbor’s house, the woman was unable to provide her home address. Officer Kerstner stayed with the woman while Officer Petrosky followed her footprints in the freshly fallen snow back to her home where he found the front door ajar.

Grateful for her mom’s safe return home, the resident wrote: “I saw the care the Officer’s took at the scene. They were calm and very caring. I am grateful beyond words for the professionalism of the Warwick Police Department. You may think this is just another night out on call but how you handled the call meant the world to me. Thank you to the officers for going above and beyond the call of duty.” After DeAngelo read the letter, Sweeton responded: “Our Officer’s do this day-in and day-out, and we are very proud of that.”