Sunset top cop discusses promotion, NCO program

Moving on up.

Emmanuel Gonzalez, who was named commanding officer of the 72^nd Precinct last March, was recently promoted to Deputy Inspector.

“I’m so grateful for my promotion to both the community and the police officers,” he told this paper. “I didn’t get promoted by myself. There’s nothing ingenious I did. It was just a collective teamwork effort between the cops and community.”

A ceremony was held for Gonzalez to mark his promotion, which meant a lot to him and his family. “They were very happy and honored and thrilled with it,” he said. “They know that I work hard but they also know that the cops work hard for me and my family was just very happy with the results. They know that the cops deserve all the credit.”

Gonzalez was quick to thank all the officers and note that there has been a dip in crime in the precinct over the last year. “We finished last year with overall crime in the 72 down 2.5 percent.”

Since he began at the 72^, the precinct  has introduced Neighborhood Coordinating Officers (NCO), a policing model that has broken the area into four sectors. According to Gonzalez, the program has been a success, with crime down eight percent between April 4, when it began, and the end of the year.

“The NCO is a very important program to the Police Department. It’s important to the community and cops as well, and they love it,” said the deputy inspector. “They get to interact with the community more.  I think we are in a great place with Sunset Park. The community wants to interact with the police. It’s an incredible time in our society when the cops are invited into the community and into places like schools and senior centers. That’s how this program is being successful. And that’s how the crime rate is going down, and it is going down in Sunset.”

The four sectors are Sector Adam, in Windsor Terrace, parts of Park Slope, and on the borders of Prospect Park; Sector Boy, which covers the Industry City and the Bush Army Terminal area; Sector Charlie. the heart of Sunset Park, encompassing Sunset Park and the pool area; and Sector David, including most of the southern part of the 72nd Precinct and Eighth Avenue.

Gonzalez is a 27-year veteran of the force, starting at the Police Academy right after graduating from St. John’s University in 1989. Along with being a lieutenant, then captain, at the 70^th Precinct in Flatbush and Midwood, and executive officer at the 60^th and 66^th Precincts (in Coney Island/Brighton Beach and Boro Park, respectively), he was also a member of ROTC and is still in the Army Reserve. He deployed twice to Iraq, once for the initial combat operations there in 2003, and again in 2008 for the surge.

“My first command and my first police locker room experience were here in the 72nd Precinct,” he said back in March. “In a way, my career has come full circle and I’m back here where I started.”

“I’m very honored that I was promoted,” he added earlier this month, “but with that said, it’s something that the community should be proud of as well and I plan on being here. There’s plenty of work to do.”