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• Where is Rye, anyway?
• What type of boats are used by the marine division?
• Staffing
• What are bay constables and what do they do?
• Boating Law Enforcement
• Emergency Operations
• Marine Unit Seasonal Highlights 

Where is Rye, anyway?

    The City of Rye is situated on the shore of Long Island Sound, North of New York City and South of the State of Connecticut. There is approximately 14 miles of coastline, due to the irregular shape of the geography.  

Staffing

The city maintains a Marine Unit staffed by a police officer and 5 seasonal Bay Constables. In 2000, after years of the unit being operated exclusively by seasonal Bay Constables, Police Officer  Gary Olivier, was assigned to command the unit and oversee the rebuilding of it. New training and procedures were put into place to enhance the services rendered by the unit to the boating public. The Bay Constables received navigational training conducted by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, which included GPS and radar skills, man overboard procedures and basic chart reading. In service search and rescue training has been conducted with Stamford Police, Greenwich, Port Chester and Village of Mamaroneck. Police Officer Olivier is a 20 year veteran of the Rye NY Police Department and is a former Bay Constable himself. Olivier holds a US Coast Guard 50 ton Masters license with a commercial towing endorsement. In 2000, Olivier attended and successfully completed the NY State Marine Law Enforcement School. He is also a NY State certified police instructor and is currently a member of the departments training staff. Aside from instructing and training Bay Constables, Olivier has also taught police related classes to the full time members of the department, Auxiliary Police Officers and the New Jersey Naval and Army Guard. Our Bay Constables: 5 Seasonal Bay Constables are assigned to the Marine Unit. The 5 come from diverse back grounds and boast a bevy of talents. Bay Constable Mike Matero is a retired Port Chester Police Officer and has been with the unit since 2003. Bay Constable Matero has also completed the NY State Marine Law Enforcement School and is a master firearms instructor since the mid 1980's. Many Westchester Police Academy Recruits have benefited from Matero's years of teaching firearms and tactics while attending the Westchester County Police Academy. Bay Constable Bruce Caldwell is the former Harbor Master of Port Chester NY and is new to the Rye Marine Unit this year. Caldwell is also a US Coast Guard Licensed Captain holding a 50 gross ton license with towing endorsement, He too has successfully completed the NY State Marine Law Enforcement School and emergency vessel operators course. Bay Constable Robert Martin has been a member of the marine unit since 1988. Martin is also an supervising investigator with the NY State ATF Taxation department. Martin has attended US Coast Guard Auxiliary training classes and holds the basic safety and essentials certificate Two newcomers to the Unit: Bay Constable Fredrick "Rick" Veit came on board this year. Rick is a practicing attorney as well as an accomplished pilot and member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 6 and 7 located in Ossining NY. Rick fly's missions for the Coast Guard and has currently completed his crew training for the USCGAUX Flotilla 6 and 7s Launch #5 team. Bay Constable Lynn Valenti is also a crew member of Flotilla 6 and 7 and a NY City Auxiliary Police Officer assigned to the Auxiliary Harbor Unit. Lynn is currently an editor for CBS News and is co-owner of Echo Bay Marine Services located in New Rochelle NY. Two Bay Constables who have moved on: Two former Rye Bay Constables have moved on to full time law enforcement careers in the last two years. Bay Constable Mauricio Gomez was hired by the Rye NY Police as a full time Police Officer in 2002 and Bay Constable Michael Outhouse, a member of the marine unit since 1997, has moved on to a full time law enforcement position with the Putnam County Sheriffs department this year. Both Mauricio and Michael are missed by the crew.

    The Unit responds to emergencies on the sound and is responsible for enforcement of NYS Conservation Law and navigation law, as well as City of Rye Statutes relating to the waterways of the city.

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Boats and Equipment

   The Rye Police Marine Unit presently operates 3 patrol craft and 1 marine patrol truck. The primary craft, (Rye PB-1) is a 2670  Glacier Bay Twin Hull catamaran, powered by twin 150 Mercury engines. PB 1 is fully equipped for search and rescue missions. GPS, radar, first aid equipment, night vision, an underwater camera with monitor and tactical gear are some of the equipment carried on the vessel. The twin hull design provides the operators with stability and enables them to operate in seas up to 10'.

The second vessel, (Rye PB-2) is a 19' Boston Whaler powered by a 150 Mercury outboard and is used primarily for environmental conservation and navigational enforcement , but, does boast GPS, first aid equipment and other gear.

The third vessel is a 12' Mercury inflatable that is kept on a trailer at the ready, 24/7 in a closed garage. The inflatable is used primarily for a emergency rescue craft, ( see season highlights for more on Rye PB-3 and it's attributes) but is also used for special enforcement, triathlons and other charity swims. PB-3 also has safety and rescue equipment. "The versatility of the craft makes it our most valuable police vessel and has paid for itself a number of times" said Rye Police Commissioner William R. Connors. The ability to launch it in areas that are not accessible by a boat ramp make it indispensable added Officer Olivier.

      PB-1 was officially commissioned on July 18th 2001 in a ceremony at the Rye Municipal Marina. The mayor, Rye city council, boat basin supervisor Peter Fox, City Manager Julie Novak and Police Commissioner William R. Connors, were all on hand to commission Rye's new patrol boat in honor of retired Rye Police Chief William E. Hagele for whom the vessel is named after. Chief Hagele and many of his former police officers and family were on hand for the ceremony. 
      A gold plaque that reads "Chief William E. Hagele" Commissioned July 18th, 2001 adorns the cockpit area of the PB-1.

New rescue and navigation equipment was also installed this year:

This vessel is now equipped with a Garmin Global Positioning System, or GPS for short. The GPS aids the vessel operators in navigating in low or no light and heavy fog conditions were visibility is severely restricted. Aside from it's chart capabilities, the GPS also shows True compass courses, speed over ground or MPH and a sonar read out of the depth below the vessel and a picture of the sea floor. A new Home light pump with fire fighting capabilities was also purchased and installed on PB-1 this year.

The new light weight Home Light replaces an old, large fire department hand me down pump that had only operated intermittently. The pump was used numerous times during the year to assist boating in trouble.

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What are bay constables and what do they do?

    At the present time there are approximately 150 bay constables in N.Y. State, all of them in the Southeast part of the state, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester counties. In the early 1800s in the eastern towns of Long Island, bay constables were elected to two year terms to protect the shell fish beds on the Great Southbay. In 1982, for the purpose of enforcement of the conservation laws related to fish and wild life and water fowl hunting, the position of Bay constable was created by the Rye City Council. A bay constable has the same authority and powers as a N.Y.S. Econ Officer.

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Boating Law Enforcement

    The waters of Long Island Sound located around the City of Rye belong to N.Y.S. and the N.Y.S. Navigation Law authorizes The City of Rye to adopt laws which can control boating traffic, moorings, littering, and pollution control. These laws can only be enforced up to 1/4 or a mile (1,500 ft) off the entire shore line of the City of Rye. Section 40 of the N.Y.S. navigation law deals with vessels and required safety equipment. This section deals with personnel floatation devices (life jackets), distress flags, flares and fire extinguishers. All of these are required pieces of life saving equipment. These laws are strictly enforced by the Bay Constables whenever we do a boarding (boating safety check).

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Emergency Operations

     The Marine Patrol Units are fully equipped (radar, loran, communication and firefighting equipment) to perform search and rescue missions in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies.

     The Rye Marine Unit is part of the Western Long Island Sound Task Force for search, rescue and law enforcement which is coordinated by the U.S. Coastguard Station at Eatons Neck.

     If you have want more information on the city's marine unit, contact the police station by phone at (914) 967-1234 or e-mail PDMarine@ryepd.ryeny.gov.

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