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Southold’s Officer of the Year among county’s top DWI cops

From left, Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley in January with this year's Officer of the Year award honorees Rory Flatley and Richard Jernick Jr. (Credit: Paul Squire, file)
From left, Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley in January with this year’s Officer of the Year award honorees Rory Flatley and Richard Jernick Jr. (Credit: Paul Squire, file)

A Southold cop who was named the department’s Officer of the Year now has one more accolade under his belt: one of Suffolk County’s top DWI cops.

Rory Flatley was among 23 officers from across the county recognized for their DWI arrests in 2013. Mr. Flatley — who is Chief Martin Flatley’s son — was also honored in January for helping to save a drunk driver’s life after a Laurel crash last year. 

“It is extremely important to us that motorists who are driving while intoxicated are stopped,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “DWI tragedies don’t just affect those involved, they impact the families of victims as well.”

A Riverhead officer, Timothy Murphy, earned top cop honors with 118 arrests, the most in the county. This year’s award marks the third time since 2010 that Mr. Murphy has earned the honor and continues his streak of more than a decade near the top of county-wide DWI arrests.

Mr. Murphy and Mr. Flatley’s arrests were among the 5,692 DWI arrests made in 2013 and more than 15,000 DWI arrests in the past three years.

In 2013, 51 people were killed in Suffolk County by the reckless behavior of drunk drivers as compared to 47 the previous year. Although DWI fatalities have declined by 56 percent since 1979, Suffolk County recognizes that many challenges remain and will continue to be vigilant.

“Suffolk County will not tolerate drunk driving on our roadways,” Mr. Bellone said. “We remain committed to arresting anyone who chooses to drink and then get behind the wheel of a car, endangering the lives of others.”

Twenty-three county cops were honored Tuesday morning. (Courtesty photo)
Twenty-three county cops were honored Tuesday morning. (Courtesty photo)

The other officers honored were:

Christopher Drake (Town of Shelter Island)
Carl Schottenhamel (Town of Southampton)
Joseph Slack (Village of Amityville)
Steven Niggles (Village of East Hampton)
Micheael Gigante (Village of Northport)
John Galvin (Village of Quogue)
Sashley Jones (Village of Southampton)
Steven McManus (Village of Westhampton)
Vincent Rantinella (Town of East Hampton)
Michael P. Grosso (New York State)
Greg Sandbichler (Suffolk County Parks)
Brian Rasiak (Suffolk County Sheriff)
David Leath (SCPD 1st Precinct)
Harry Jos (SCPD 2nd Precinct)
Chris Anskat (SCPD 3rd Precinct)
Doug Nassisi (SCPD 4th Precinct)
Jamie Bustamante (SCPD 5th Precinct)
Anthony Legotti (SCPD 6th Precinct)
Brandon Neal (SCPD 7th Precinct)
William Murray (SCPD Highway Patrol)
Roger Kleber (SCPD SAFE-T Team)