Nuzzo takes over as commander of Troop K

MILLBROOK —  Maj. Robert Nuzzo is settling into his new position as commander of the New York State Police’s  (NYSP) Troop K barracks. 

 Appointed by NYSP Superintendent George P. Beach II, Nuzzo took his place at the head of Troop K on Aug. 25. He is the 32nd Troop K commander, replacing Maj. Robin H. Benziger, who is now serving the Division of State Police in employee relations. 

 Nuzzo began his career at Troop K in 1987 as a trooper, transferring the next year to Troop F. 

 “It is an honor to be serving here at Troop K, and especially in this centennial year,” he said in an interview with The Millerton News. The NYSP will be 100 years old in 2017. “I’ve spent the last 30 years trying to help people.”

 As a trooper in Ulster County with Troop F, he was promoted to a sergeant in 1994. In 2001, Nuzzo was promoted to lieutenant, assigned to Troop L, where he was in charge of security for the 2002 U.S. Open Golf Championship.

 Nuzzo was reassigned to Troop F, becoming the assistant Zone 3 commander for Ulster and Greene counties. In 2006, he was appointed captain of special services, until 2010. He then he returned to Troop K. He was named administrative captain at Troop Headquarters, and later as the Zone 2 commander, serving both Dutchess and Putnam counties. Nuzzo returned to Troop F as the Zone 3 commander in 2012, and was promoted to major of special operations in 2015.

 Nuzzo was born in Long Island, and began his career in law enforcement as a Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputy. A quiet-speaking man with a lively sense of humor, Nuzzo has served in myriad capacities over the years. He’s had supervisory roles at the Woodstock music festivals in 1994 and 1999 and he was part of the New York State Police response detail, which went to New Orleans with 100 troopers following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As a lieutenant, Nuzzo was in charge of 50 men. 

 Katrina deeply moved him, he said, as did his work with the devastation following Hurricane Irene, when he spent two periods of 15 days each in Ulster and Greene counties. 

 “This was devastation as I’d never seen,” he said. “But these were also some of the most rewarding experiences of my life.” 

 Since then, Nuzzo started a program throughout the Troop K region, where once a day, every school has a brief, random visit by a state trooper. Nuzzo said such checks are especially important after the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and that having a presence in the schools and building community relations is reassuring, not intimidating.

 A history buff, Nuzzo talked about the 100th anniversary year coming up: Troop K is planning an open house on July 15, 2017, in honor of the centennial. 

 He spoke about the very beginning of the state police, following the murder of Sam Howell, a payroll clerk in Bedford. Confronted by robbers who escaped with the payroll, he was shot seven times and ultimately died of his wounds. He named his killers before he died, but local law enforcement officers refused to apprehend them, and they were never caught. Two citizens, Moyca Newell and her friend, Katherine Mayo, were outraged. They initiated the movement to establish a state force that would give police protection in the rural areas of the state. The force was established by way of a vote passed in the Senate on March 20, 1917.

 Nuzzo said history is only part of the reason why he’s so pleased to be with the NYSP. 

 “I’m excited to be in a position to serve and to help,” he said.