Police Officers of the Month, February 2004

On April 16, 2003 P.O. Stanley Oleksiak, while responding to an unrelated assignment, was in the vicinity of Washington Mutual Band in Rockville Centre when a radio notification was transmitted regarding a robbery which had just occured at the bank.

The radio tranmission regarding the robbery contained little information concerning the number of perpetrators, vehicle description, or the direction of travel of the robbery suspects.

P.O. Oleksiak observed, what he beleived to be, a suspicios van occupied by two males in the vicinity. P.O. Oleksiak followed the suspicious vehicle and kept them under surveillance while awaiting for additional information from units at the scene of the robbery.

Based on his suspicions, P.O. Oleksiak attempted to stop the vehicle and conduct an investigation. The described vehicle attempted to evade P.O. Oleksiak and a pursuit ensued wheich ended in Hempstead where, after a coordinated search of the area by units at the scene, one subject was arrestedand charged with Robbery 2nd degree. The subsequent investigationled to the arrested subject being charged with robbery of another bank, State Bank of Long Island in New Hyde Park, which occurred a week earlier on April 10, 2003.

A follow up investigation resulted in a second subject being apprehended and charged with the Rockville Centre bank robbery.

Because of his astute obdervation and his heroic actions the Long Island Shields are proud to present Police Officer of the Month to Rockville Centre Police Officer Stan Oleksiak.