Extra Eyes and Ears for the New York City Police Department

Galios Diaz, NYPD Auxiliary Fellow

Whenever I think of the New York Auxiliary Police Department, I think that they are a team of dedicated individuals who work together to support one another. When I received the opportunity to be a fellow for the New York City Auxiliary Police Department, I was thrilled. This excitement is because I learned from my family to respect and love our authorities. Sharing my experiences in fire protection and emergency and connecting with my personal beliefs was a true blessing for me.

I am immensely privileged to have had the opportunity to work with these incredible people and have the opportunity to assist them with the emergency management class at the academy. With approximately 3,500 members, NYPD Auxiliary is the largest volunteer organization in the country and keeps a bridge between the community and the police force. It has been great for me to see people becoming part of the team, from the very young to the very old. People enjoy helping the police department as a part of their communities.

Every year two academies are developed, graduating over 300 volunteers each. Working in the emergency management class has been great. I have learned about the emergency management that New York City has, the different emergency scenarios we can go through, and sharing that information with the public. Every week I have given classes in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. People are very interested in learning how to respond to emergencies. Many of them did not know how many resources the city can offer them, like "Know Your Zone." If we can't predict when emergencies will happen, we can be prepared for them. Knowing the impact of an emergency management class on each student has been gratifying because it represents a community that is more prepared for an emergency.

Leadership is one of the things I admire most about the auxiliary police force. A strong team of leaders and coordinators can provide a wide range of activities throughout the year, supporting and accompanying the community and the official police force. Leading teams is not easy, and even more so when there are such diverse profiles and different cultures. Still, the leaders of NYPD Auxiliary have excellent skills such as communication, large-scale leadership, and team leadership which has allowed the team to build a stronger team, with leaders and coordinators in each precinct to cover the whole city. I firmly believe that leadership is the key that has allowed this team to remain in force and with constant growth within the community.

Having a fantastic team behind me, such as Lieutenant Michael Desposito, Sergent Derek Mercado, Sergent Ahmed, Marcia Morris McGeachy and all the marvelous public officers, makes all this possible.