RVC PD Names Hockney, Reidy as 'Cops of the Month'

Rockville Centre Police Officers Scott Hockney and Stephen Reidy were recently named “Cops of the Month” by the village Police Department for their arrest of a career criminal on burglary charges.

During a routine patrol on Nov. 22, officers Hockney and Reidy responded to a house alarm on Allen Road around 7:30 p.m. Hockney peered through a window and spotted a man inside carrying a large bag and heading toward the rear of the house. Reidy then ran to the backyard and stopped the man as he was trying to flee.

The burglar, Jerry Valery, 39, of Freeport, violently resisted arrest, and Hockney and Reidy needed a Taser to subdue him after Valery tried to grab Hockney's gun.

Valery was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery (Attempt), two counts of second-degree assault, third-degree robbery (Attempt) and resisting arrest. Valery also had an extensive arrest record with a lengthy history of violent offenses.

Police Commissioner Chuck Gennario commended officers Hockney and Reidy for their “diligence, dedication to duty and highly professional conduct” in naming them Cops of the Month.

Read the initial crime report .