Warwick police chief among those honored at awards ceremony

Goshen — The Police Chief’s Association of Orange County held its 14th annual police awards ceremony on May 19 before a packed house at the county courthouse in Goshen. Nearly 200 people attended to honor officers from nine different municipal, county, and state police agencies. The Officer of the Year for 2006 is City of Newburgh Police Officer William (Chip) Lahar. Other awards ranged from Exceptional Police Duty for officers who showed exceptional initiative, to lifesaving awards. In addition to the awards given out by the Police Chief’s Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, Jason Conklin Lodge, awarded New York State Trooper Peter Cirigliano its Medal of Merit. Dignitaries who attended the ceremony including Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, Orange County Executive Edward Diana and District Attorney Frank Phillips. The keynote address was given by U.S. Rep. John Hall. The ceremony not only recognizes the work of law enforcement officers in Orange County but also serves as a memorial to officers who have died. A role call of names was read as piper Terry Mullen performed “Amazing Grace.” Other recipients included: • Orange County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Dubois): Jennifer Sergi, Deputy, Lifesaving; Phil Fagan, Deputy, Exceptional Police Duty; David Mullen, Deputy, Exceptional Police Duty; Justin Butterfield, Deputy, Exceptional Police Duty; Michael Price, Deputy, Lifesaving; Shawn Ost, Investigator, Exceptional Police Duty. • Municipal departments: William Lahar, Officer, City of Newburgh (Chief Paolilli), Award for Valor; Thomas E. Schweizer, Officer, Town of Goshen (Chief Marsh), Lifesaving; Matthew Imperio, Sergeant, Town of Goshen, Lifesaving; James Boyd Officer, Town of Goshen, Lifesaving; Michael Imperio, Officer, Town of Goshen, Lifesaving; Michael Thompson, Officer, Town of Cornwall (Chief Hazard), Exceptional Police Duty; John Pena, Officer, Village of Cornwall (Chief Williams), Exceptional Police Duty; Scott Robertson, Officer, City of Port Jervis (Chief Cherry), Meritorious Service; Robert Card, Officer, City of Port Jervis, Meritorious Service; Jason Vicchiariello, Officer, City of Port Jervis, Exceptional Police Duty; Jeffrey Legato, Officer, City of Port Jervis, Exceptional Police Duty; Paul Todora, Officer, Town of Warwick (Chief Thomas McGovern), Exceptional Police Duty; Matthew Frankl, Officer, Town of New Windsor (Chief Biasotti), Meritorious Service. New York State Police (Major Raso): Peter Cirigliano, Trooper, Meritorious Service and Medal of Merit; BCI Squad Unit, Exceptional Police Duty.