Ramapo Police Chief Welcomes Four New Recruits to the Department

By Sarah Morgenstern

Ramapo Police Chief Martin Reilly, on Tuesday at the Ramapo Town Hall, swore in four new police officers who will soon join the 104 other officers who serve the Ramapo Police Department.

Recruits Sean Armstrong, McAntoine Morisset, Krzysztof Zalewski, and Brendan Lenihan, who all live in Ramapo, will begin their six-month training at the Rockland County Police Academy on Mon., Feb. 7.

“I was impressed with the applications, resumes, background investigations, and interviews of these recruits,” Chief Reilly, who started serving as chief of the department in June 2021, told RocklandDaily. “We look forward to seeing them start the process that transforms them from citizens into police officers.”

That process of transformation, Chief Reilly explained, emerges from the police officers’ training to do police work.

“Police officers are trained to see things differently that the average person would see them,” explained Chief Reilly, who has been working in the Ramapo Police Department for 35 years. “Police officers always adjust their eyes to have the perspectives that ensure the public's safety.

The Ramapo Police Department, which swears in new officers periodically to replace retiring officers and fill staff vacancies, chose its four new officers after they took, in May 2021, their Rockland County Civil Service Exam, which includes a written test, a measure of physical agility, and medical and psychological assessments. 

Chief Reilly said that the process to choose police officers, which includes detailed background investigations, is a selective process that involves several stages of informal and formal interviews. 

After the four recruits graduate from the Rockland County Police Academy this summer, they will be assigned to a Field Training Officer Program, which takes another 10 to 12 weeks. 

"We work well with the public, and we do a lot of problem-solving, ” said Chief Reilly proudly. “The Ramapo Police Department is very service-oriented.

"We serve the public."