Reidy Named 'Cop of the Month' by RVCPD

Officer Stephen Reidy was recently named "Cop of the Month" by the Rockville Centre Police Department for his alert police work that led to the arrest of two men on auto theft and other charges, officials said.

During a routine patrol at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, Reidy observed a car speeding northbound on North Long Beach Road. When he attempted to pull the car over, the driver fled eastbound on Muirfield Road. During the pursuit, the car hit a mailbox and a street sign on Milburn Street, and then came to a stop on the front lawn of a Muirfield residence where the two men left the car.

Reidy arrested one of the subjects near the vehicle, and then established a perimeter with other police units to capture the driver who fled the scene. The Nassau County Police Canine Unit located the second man in the backyard of a Muirfield residence and Reidy assisted in the second arrest.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the car used by the two men had been stolen from a Rockville Centre residence moments before Reidy spotted the speeding vehicle. The two men were charged with third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, both D felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The driver of the vehicle was also charged with unlawful fleeing, resisting arrest, reckless driving and other violations of the vehicle and traffic laws.

Police Commissioner Chuck Gennario commended Reidy for his, "diligence, dedication to duty and highly professional conduct" in naming him "Cop of the Month" and thanked him at the Sept. 7 Village Board of Trustees meeting for ridding the streets of "two career criminals."

Reidy will also receive a Town of Hempstead Police Service Award on Sept. 21 in recognition of his outstanding police work in May 2009 that led to the arrest of two Rockville Centre men for first-degree armed robbery.