Police Auxiliary More Than Just ‘Eyes and Ears’

This is the first article of a two-part series.

An incident during Ed Oliva’s first of nearly 10 years volunteering for the Long Beach Auxiliary Police Department sticks with him most. It was a murder at a West End home and Oliva did what monopolizes a LBAPD officer’s time: he directed traffic.

“We had to maintain traffic and lock down the surrounding area so that the police could do their crime scene investigation,” he said. “It was a crazy night.”

Olive is among 35 active members of the strictly volunteer auxiliary unit that perform duties from traffic control at police and fire scenes to patrolling everything from the boardwalk to parks to school grounds. Most officers are Long Beach residents but come from many walks of life. One officer is a housewife and another is a hospital CEO.

Oliva, who is now a captain and works part-time for a Manhattan security company, got involved with the unit when he moved to Long Beach after 9/11. “I think a lot of guys decided to help out and contact organizations that they can help, especially since 9/11, and it’s been strong since,” he said about the LBAPD.

Commissioner Josh Sundquist, a vice president of IT for a Wall Street firm who joined the LBAPD in 1995, said the unit is possibly the most active in Nassau County. While the county’s unit may send out two officers in one car each night in most towns, the LBAPD can put as many as eight officers on Long Beach's streets.

Knows as “the eyes and ears” of the community, the auxiliary police are also seen as a potential deterrent to criminal activity, in that the LBAPD’s five vehicles closely resemble marked police cars that double the number of such cars on the streets each night, Sundquist said.

“A lot of what the auxiliary provides is visibility, in that people see an official marked car, and that might change people’s minds about committing a crime or anything along those lines,” he observed. 

The cars also come equipped with radios that are on the same frequency as the Long Beach Police Department, and officers notify police of criminal activity, whether they spot potential drug deals or motorists driving drunk.

“Unfortunately, it happens a lot,” Oliva said about DWIs. “It just seems to be the nature of Long Beach. Alcohol is a problem, especially with teens. Hopefully we can spot something and prevent someone from being killed.”

Officers are typically assigned to a patrol the same night each week, usually from 7 to 11 p.m., and in a particular area. The average officer volunteers from 300 to 500 hours annually, including special events such as parades, foot and bike street races, Easter-egg hunts and surfing contests. “We’re on call 24/7 for any additional assistance the police department needs, whether there is a fire or a power outage or Hurricane Irene,” Oliva said.

Anna Fatigati, who joined the unit in 2007, is one of four women on the force and a sergeant on Tuesday nights. In addition to patrols, she usually provides security at City Council meetings. “I talk about it so much when I’m out there,” Fatigati said about the LBAPD. “I’m proud to be out there.”

Her son, Charles, joined the unit a year ago. New members, who must be a minimum of 21 years old, are on probation the first three months, wear street clothes and patrol with officers. “It gives them a chance to ride with the unit and lets them decide if this is what they really want to do, and it gives us a chance to evaluate the person and make sure they would be a good fit with our unit,” Sundquist explained.  

After senior officers vote in a new officer, that person remains on probation for another year, but wears a uniform and patrols with a sergeant who instructs him on safety procedures.

This is the first article of a two-part series.

* This story was edited at 4:33 on 4.17.12.