Greenburgh Insider: Greenburgh celebrates diversity with police promotions.

 

First African American Captain.

First immigrant from Pakistan appointed Lieutenant.

The members of the Greenburgh Town Board (Ken Jones, Gina Jackson, Francis Sheehan, Ellen Hendrickx and myself) unanimously approved the promotions of three outstanding members of the Greenburgh Police Department at the Town Board meeting on April 13th.  The appointments celebrate the diversity of the Greenburgh Police department. For the first time - an African American will be appointed as Captain, the 2nd highest rank in the police department. And an immigrant from Pakistan was appointed to Lieutenant. The promotions were recommended by Interim Police Chief George Longworth.

Captain  Kobie Powell received an historic appointment as the first African American to serve as Captain on the force. As Captain, Powell will lead a new unit, the Division of Professional Standards, involved in disciplinary matters, civilian complaints, quality control, and employment background checks. Powell will also serve as the Public Information Officer. He is a lifelong town resident, having served in every division of the force, most recently as the commanding officer for Internal Affairs. 

Lieutenant Ryan Lobo, currently on the Technical Rescue Team and an assistant team leader for SWAT,  was promoted to Lieutenant. He was born in Pakistan and emigrated to the US when he was five. Lobo has been a Greenburgh resident for 29 years, graduating with honors from Woodlands High School. He started his police career in White Plains but moved to the Greenburgh force in 2012. In 2019 he was promoted to Sergeant. 

Finally, Sergeant Gary Barnett was promoted to Sergeant. He has been a resident of the town for 32 years. He served in the US Army before as part of the Elite Rangers, where he also reached the rank of sergeant. He has been a Field Training Officer and served on the Street Crime Unit and the Drug and Alcohol Task Force. 

We congratulate all three of these dedicated public safety servants in their expanded roles. You can watch the promotion ceremony here:  https://youtu.be/w8vMBMZN0tI. 

Our town is lucky to have a fantastic public safety team of dedicated, hard working, brave and efficient men and women who are willing to risk their lives to keep us safe.  They are appreciated.

PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor