Shelton police recognized several officers for meritorious service during a ceremony Thursday (March 26) and promoted several others, including the first female female detective in the department’s history.
More than 100 people attended the ceremony at the Senior Center on Wheeler Street, including most of the city’s Aldermen and state Reps. Ben McGorty and Jason Perillo.
Click the video to see the ceremony’s opening procession, led by the Police Pipes and Drums of Waterbury.
Mayor Mark Lauretti said Thursday’s event was a proud moment, and for good reason.
“If you understand the nature of what police departments do day in and day out, you soon come to appreciate quality of life and the value in the community that is very important to all of us, and that’s our safety,” Lauretti said.
“Their recognition tonight is not given, it’s earned,” the mayor said later.
30 Years Of Service
Three members of the department were recognized for having served in Shelton for 30 years or more.
Sgt. John Youd, a lifelong resident of Shelton, has been with the department since 1978, when he was hired as a supernumerary police officer. He became a patrolman two years later.
Youd, who could not attend Thursday’s ceremony, was a member of the department’s SWAT team and formerly a supervisor in the detective bureau. He is now a senior patrol supervisor.
Sgt. Peter Zaksewicz became a Shelton police officer in 1985, and also served in the SWAT team.
He is currently a hostage negotiator, certified police instructor, member of the honor guard, and lead investigator of fatal motor vehicle accidents. He is also an Army veteran.
Chief Joel Hurliman has served in the police department for 37 years, and was promoted to chief in 2006.
Also a 23-year veteran of the Connecticut National Guard, Hurliman was recently named police officer of the year by the Knights of St. Patrick.
Article continues after photo of Lauretti and Hurliman.
Awards
Lauretti also handed out awards to officers involved in two recent incidents.
Officer David Eldridge, who could not attend the ceremony, and Officer Philip Norris were given merit awards for their response to a Christmas Eve robbery at a River Road convenience store.
Norris was on patrol about 1:15 a.m. when he pulled into the Cumberland Farms at 819 River Road and was flagged down by customers who told him the store was being robbed.
Norris saw a man —- identified as Valentine Rodriguez, 32, of Bridgeport -— leave the store, carrying something in his hand. Rodriguez allegedly ignored Norris’ commands to stop and fled into the woods.
Norris then heard a gunshot.
Cops surrounded the area, and Eldridge began searching a steep, rocky wooded area after hearing noises. He eventually cuffed Rodriguez and took him into custody.
Article continues after photo of Norris, who went through surgery Wednesday for an injury sustained in the arrest.
Zaksewicz and Officer John Napoleone received commendations for negotiating a peaceful end to a tense standoff at a Longview Road home last fall.
About 3:15 Oct. 2, a woman called 911 to report a man was in his backyard threatening to harm himself.
Napoleone, a trained hostage negotiator, responded and established a dialog with the man, who throughout the ordeal repeatedly put a loaded Ruger handgun to his temple.
Zaksewicz, also a trained hostage negotiator, also responded and began speaking with the man. After nearly three hours of negotiations, the man put his gun on the ground and surrendered to Zaksewicz.
Article continues after photo of Zaksewicz and Napoleone.
Promotions
The department also recognized several officers who have received promotions in rank.
Detectve Christopher Nugent, a police officer since 2006, handled the department’s police dog, Jager, until Jager retired last year after six years with Nugent.
The department also recognized Jager, who over the course of his career assisted in approximately 75 “successful tracks” and apprehended 15 dangerous suspects.
Article continues after photo of Nugent and Jager.
Lubelia DeBrum, a 14-year member of the police department, was also promoted to detective, the first woman to earn the rank in the department’s history.
DeBrum served in the Air Force prior to her police career and has also volunteered time to the American Cancer Society, the Shelton Mentoring Program, and has also been recognized as a top fundraiser for the “Closer to Free” bike ride benefiting Yale-New Haven Hospital’s Smilow Cancer Center.
DeBrum serves as the department’s youth officer in the detective bureau.
Article continues after photo of Lauretti administering the oath to DeBrum.
Four sergeants — Matthew Kunkel, William Serrano, Brian Yerzak, and Mark Siglinger — were also recognized Thursday.
Kunkel, the police department’s officer of the year in 2006 and a veteran of the Army Reserve who was deployed to Iraq in 2003, had been a detective with the department since 2010.
A certified police instructor who also served as the department’s youth officer, Kunkel was promoted to sergeant last May, and detective sergeant in July.
William Serrano is a certified police instructor, a field training officer and an FBI-certified crisis negotiator who has received multiple awards for investigating domestic violence cases, and was named Shelton’s Officer of the Year in 2008.
A 15-year member of the Shelton police, Serrano was formerly an officer in Beacon Falls.
Article continues after photo of Kunkel (left) and Serrano taking the oath.
Yerzak, a Shelton police officer since 2006, graduated first in his academy class and has worked in the detective bureau and as a field training officer.
Yerzak graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Haven with degrees in chemistry and forensic science, and has a master’s in education from the University of Bridgeport.
Siglinger, a lifelong Shelton resident, is a 28-year veteran of the police deparmtent.
Currently assigned to the traffic division, Siglinger is a certified instructor for AAA’s driver improvement program, a key reason AAA recently presented the department with a Silver Award.
Article continues after photo of Siglinger (left) and Yerzak.
Finally, the department has promoted two new captains — Robert Kozlowsky and Shawn Sequeira.
Kozlowsky, a Shelton cop since 2000, is a certified police instructor who has taught in Connecticut and other states.
Prior to his promotion, Kozlowsky was the department’s spokesman. He has a bachelor’s from Southern Connecticut State University and a master’s from the University of New Haven in criminal justice management.
Sequeira is a former state trooper who had worked for state police since 2006. He scored number one on the state police detective test less than a year into his career and was assigned to the Central District Major Crime Squad in Bethany.
A certified police instructor and adjunct professor of forensics at Albertus Magnus College, Sequeira has assisted in several major investigations, including the September 2009 homicide of Yale student Annie Le, a 2010 mass shooting at a Manchester beer distributor, and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Closer to home, Sequeira wrote the arrest warrant for Sharon Scanlon, the former Shelton assistant finance director accused of stealing nearly $1 million of the city’s money.
Sequeira’s hiring prompted thanks from Greg Johnson, the president of the local chapter of the NAACP.
“We are honored and proud to see Captain Sequeira become a representative in Shelton PD of all the best diversity has to offer,” Johnson said in a statement thanking Hurliman and Lauretti. “We look forward to close, positive working relationships as we move forward.”
A photo of Sequeira and Kozlowsky is below.
Click here to see more photos from the ceremony.
