Unsung Hero Pablo Ramos: Orangetown Auxiliary Police Captain Volunteer

By Barry Warner

Orangetown Auxiliary Police Officers are community-concerned men and women from diverse backgrounds and occupations, who volunteer to assist the Police Department by performing uniformed foot, vehicle and bicycle patrols. They are trained to provide the ‘eyes and ears’ of the Police Department by observing and reporting conditions requiring the services of regular Police.

The Rockland County Times learned that volunteer Auxiliary Police Captain Pablo Ramos’ primary responsibilities focused on personnel administration plus supervision and command of lower-ranking Auxiliary Police Officers. Many of his duties include: interacting with the Orangetown Police and community leaders in developing operation plans for special events such as parades, festivals and 5K races, developing annual budgets, sending out e-mails plus text messages and telephone calls to obtain detail volunteers, facilitating new candidate interviews, ensuring that officers are issued required uniform items, instructing new recruits on the proper wearing of the uniforms, scheduling Police procedures and tactics-training for the Auxiliary Police Officers and planning social ‘team-building’ events, such as attendance at baseball games and dinners.

“I believe my desire to volunteer came from my mother. She was always doing things for family members, friends and strangers. It didn’t matter that we barely had anything ourselves. Having grown up in the South Bronx, my mother taught my brother and me that ‘there were always people worse off than us’. On many occasions, I witnessed her going out of her way to take in a family member or friend who had fallen on hard times, even if it meant my brother and I would have to share our room with that person”, said Pablo Ramos. “She was the kind of person who never asked ‘what’s in it for me?’ If someone was in need and she could help, she would. I carried this philosophy of helping others with me when I enlisted in the Air Force. In fact, I think the Air force must have received a call from my mother, because one of their requirements for a good Airman Performance Report was how much you were doing to assist the local community. While I was stationed in Italy, my wife and I would invite a single Airman to have Thanksgiving dinner with us.”

Ramos continued, “I also took every available opportunity to volunteer to improve the base. We continued this tradition of sharing Thanksgiving when we were stationed in Hawaii. I also sought out opportunities to volunteer in the local community. Then, when we moved back home to New York with our two girls, it became more about volunteering to be the class parent. When my daughters moved out after college, I found I had a lot of time on my hands. In 2004, I joined the Auxiliary Police Unit, with the intention of just helping out where I could. Helping out became getting promoted to Sergeant, then Lieutenant and most recently to Administrative Captain, each promotion resulting in an increase of duties.”

According to the website www.cttfauxiliary.com , Auxiliary Police Officers increase the public’s perception of police ‘omnipresence’ by patrolling in police cars, on foot and on bicycles. There is training in penal law, police science, discipline and powers of a peace officer, radio use, traffic and pedestrian control, defensive tactics, unarmed self-defense, CPR, first aid, handcuffing techniques and arrest procedures. The police cars known as RMPs or Radio Motor Patrols are white with light blue decals. Auxiliary Police Officers wear virtually the same uniforms as regular Police Officers and are equipped with police radios, flashlights, whistles, handcuffs, straight wood batons, memo books, reflective gloves and traffic vests. Their badges are seven-point stars, in contrast to six-point stars worn by regular Police Officers.

Anyone interested in joining the Orangetown Police Auxiliary can e-mail Lt. Mitch Saul at otauxpd@verizon.net or call 845-359-7395 x3770.

Caption for the photo-

#7355: Orangetown Auxiliary Police Captain volunteer Pablo Ramos is standing alongside his Radio Motor Patrol vehicle or RMP. Auxiliary Police Officers are trained to provide the ‘eyes and ears’ of the regular Police Department by observing and reporting conditions that require attention.