Pat Ryan thanks Orange County police graduates during National Police Week

Rep. Pat Ryan thanked Orange County police graduates and their families during National Police Week, using the ceremony to spotlight the pipeline that feeds local police departments in Orange County and across the Hudson Valley.

The Orange County Police Academy’s recent graduation at the Paramount Theater in Middletown added 14 officers to that pipeline, including City of Middletown Police Officer Elisha Hodges, who was named class valedictorian in the February 2024 ceremony. The public, family-focused event reflected how closely the county treats each graduating class, not just as a ceremony, but as a workforce infusion for departments that need trained officers on the street.

The Orange County Police Chiefs’ Association, which sponsors the academy, says the school is a certified, full-time New York State Municipal Police Training Council academy that runs the New York State Basic Course for Police and other in-service law enforcement training. Formed in 2006, the academy says it has trained more than 600 recruit police officers in the Basic Course and now trains upwards of 900 police officers each year.

That scale matters in a region where departments rely on the academy to keep hiring pipelines moving. The graduation in Middletown showed one part of that system at work, with recruits moving from training into local agencies and sworn duty. Earlier county graduations at the Paramount Theater have also drawn prominent speakers, including retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jim Gagliano and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus.

Ryan’s appearance also tied into a broader National Police Week push in the Hudson Valley. Around the same time, he highlighted nearly $6 million in federal law-enforcement funding for agencies in Orange, Ulster and Dutchess counties, including upgrades for emergency operations centers, policing technology, body cameras for Orange County Jail and a consolidated two-way radio system. His office has also linked Police Week messaging to more Community Oriented Policing Services funding, arguing that the money would bring better tools, more training and designated staff.

For Orange County, the numbers point to a system that is still rebuilding capacity rather than declaring the job finished. A 14-officer class helps, but the academy’s real measure is whether local departments can keep turning graduates into stable staffing, stronger coverage and faster response when residents call for help.