On Friday, April 29, 2016, Second Precinct Community Liaison Officer, COPE officers and Community Support Unit officers joined local children from Huntington and Huntington Station at the Dix Hills Ice Rink for a fun filled afternoon on the ice!
The Second Precinct Officers partnered up with the Tri Community and Youth Agency (Tri CYA) and provided ice skating lessons for seventeen children. The children, ages ranging from 8 to 17, were provided with transportation to and from the Dix Hills Ice Rink located at 575 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills, by Tri CYA personnel. The group, consisting of community youths who had never ice skated before, skated for two hours.
COPE Officer Jaime Wendt who helped coordinate the event has been with the Suffolk County Police Department since 2011. Officer Wendt is a United States Figure Skating Association Double Gold Medalist and has been coaching recreational ice skating, competitive figure skating and power skating for 19 years.
Joining Officer Wendt were Sgt. Joseph Barbanera, Officer Anthony Iadevaio and Officer Michael Yonelunas who without hesitation, laced up their skates and joined the kids on the ice! The officers skated alongside the children, helped to instruct them, dusted them off after the occasional fall and provided the young skaters with an unforgettable skating experience!
The Tri Community and Youth Agency is a private not for profit community based agency dedicated to supporting the growth and development of youth and their families in the communities of Huntington, South Huntington and Cold Spring Harbor.
The event was such a success, that the children were already asking when they could ‘Skate with the Cops again?’ before they had even left the ice!
