7 Promoted To Sergeant, 4 To Detective

“Do you see body cameras as a problem?”

“No, I think we should be as transparent as possible.”

“What’s the hardest task?”

“Hard question … Maybe disciplining other officers.”

That exchange between Police Commissioners Donald Walker and Stephen Garcia and Officer Ryan Przybylski took place Tuesday night as Przybylski and six other officers appeared before the Police Commission, tapped by Chief Campbell to become sergeants.

An additional four other officers slated to become detectives, each also individually took the hot seat to answer commissioners’ questions during a long regular session of the monthly meeting of the Police Commission.

The commission is the only body that can hire, or fire, a police officer.

After the prospective sergeants and the prospective detectives spoke, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve all their promotions.

The official promotion and pinning ceremonies will take place at the end of April, said Chief Anthony Campbell.

The recommended sergeants were the highest scoring first seven from the list of 61 successful candidates recently approved by the Civil Service Board.

The public interrogation of each officer by the commissioners was gentle; commissioners had already pored over the officers’ individual files and approval was considered likely. Still, commissioners explored how each officer, especially in the new supervisory rank of sergeant, would present himself or herself to the public.

Commissioner Garcia reminded Pryzbylski and other officers of the public’s concern to have a Civilian Review Board with more investigative teeth. ​“How do you see sergeants improving the public perception” of police? he asked.

Pryzbylski answered that the best contribution he can make as a sergeant would be to help each officer individually be better at his or her job.

Commissioner Evelise Ribeiro asked Officer Cherelle Carr what she learned in her current assignment that most prepared her to become a detective.

Carr answered that her work in the sexual crimes unit underscored the necessity of a team effort. ​“Without a team, you can’t get the job done,” she said.

Commissioner Greg Smith asked Officer Yessennia Agosto, who’s been on the force for 16 years and most recently also working in the sexual crimes and missing persons unit, why she has decided to become a sergeant.

“A lot of detectives come to me for guidance,” she replied.

There was another reason, she said: institutional memory: ​“I’ve seen a lot of veteran officers retire without passing along what they know.”

Rebeiro asked Officer Dana Smith what he has learned from his experience on patrol in the Hill North that best prepares him to be a sergeant.

“I learned how to talk to people,” he said. ​“Communication.”

Smith said that he is comfortable moving into that leadership role in no small part because he has kids. ​“Being a father helps me to be a leader,” he said.

He also said he would have no problem potentially disciplining his former peers. ​“I’ll treat people the same way. They’ll know that my responsibility is to supervise.”

Smith said that his experience has taught him that there still remains a serious perception problem by teens about the police. He said he’d like to undertake an initiative to address this.

“Let’s do it,” said Commission Chair Anthony Dawson.

Then the vote was taken, and all 11 were formally confirmed in their new positions.

Campbell reported that all the detectives had already been through training to prepare them for their new positions. All the new sergeants — in fact the first 25 sergeants on the list — are all scheduled to receive a week’s worth of what he termed ​“front line” leadership training between April 17 and April 28. That way more can be promoted when positions open, as is expected to happen after new lieutenants are chosen later this month.

The other officers promoted to sergeant, who are not mentioned above include: Nicholas Katz, Brian McDermott, Shayna Kendall, and Derek Werner.

In addition to Carr, the new detectives are Ross Van Nostrand, Michael Haines, and Michael Criscuolo.