Like father, like daughter: New cop joins her dad on the R.B. police force
December 14, 2023 at 1:10 a.m.
Though she was born and raised in Pelham, Anjolie Alexander has spent plenty of time in the Village of Rye Brook, accompanying her father Titus to events.
For the past 17 years, she’s watched her father dedicate himself to the community as an officer with the Rye Brook Police Department. And it was an influence that clearly rubbed off on her.
Father-daughter duo Anjolie (left) and Titus Alexander pose for a photo at Rye Brook Village Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 12, ahead of her swearing-in ceremony as a Rye Brook police officer.By David Tapia
Now, at 23 years old, she had the opportunity to have her father pin her badge onto her chest at the Rye Brook Board of Trustees meeting, a night that welcomed her to serve alongside him as an officer of the law, protector of the community.
Admittedly, however, policing was not where she initially pictured herself.
“Originally, I was going down the medical field route,” Alexander said. “I got my EMT license, and it was the way I was going.” She was studying radiology at Westchester Community College but had a mind open to anything.
“I started taking tests and exploring other options,” she explained. It was during this period of mulling over what she wanted to do with her life that her father decided to weigh in with an alternative.
“He pushed me, he told me try the job and see how it is,” Alexander said. “A lot of parents do that in general, they want to help their kids out as best as they can to see what they want to do.”
Getting advice from her dad is no rarity in her life, as Titus has served as a mentor for her in more ways than one.
In addition to offering standard fatherly advice about her future, he’s guided her in various sports.
“I was her coach in softball, soccer and basketball,” Titus recalled. “I taught her how to throw a football.”
His encouragement led her to take the Westchester County Civil Service Exam in May of 2021, and she was hired by the Pelham Police Department in January the following year.
On her experience working in her hometown, Alexander said “it was weird in the beginning,” but still enjoyable. “Everyone kind of knew who I was,” she added, “so it was nice for a while.”
The sense of familiarity brought her some comfort, but Rye Brook was where she wanted to be.
“I told [my dad] from the beginning, when I got hired by Pelham, that I wanted to come here,” she said. Despite landing a job in her hometown, she felt a deep connection with Rye Brook.
“Him being here for 17 years, that was the majority of my childhood,” she explained. “There were so many events like the family barbecues. Yes, I grew up in Pelham, but I also grew up here. I felt more affiliated with this police department.”
When she saw the opportunity to transfer to the village, she took it—jumping on the application process. Her first day as the newest Rye Brook police officer was Dec. 2.
According to Police Chief Greg Austin, the department is currently budgeted for 27 officers, and Alexander has joined the ranks as the 25th. With a starting salary of $60,000, she’s officially been on the force for several days, though her swearing-in ceremony was held on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Rye Brook Village Hall.
In front of her family, Alexander was sworn in by Mayor Jason Klein and had her badge pinned on by her father.
“I’m very proud of her,” Titus said before the ceremony.
Her mother, Shiney, said she’s confident Alexander will do well in the department. “I definitely feel good that her dad is here,” she said. “But she’s strong. She can hold her own.”
According to American Malayalee Law Enforcement United (AMLEU), a fraternal organization that primarily serves the Malayalee American community involved in law enforcement, the Alexanders are the only active father-daughter pair of South Indian officers in the United States. The younger Alexander intends to keep that truth alive for as long as she can.
While Titus has been a patrol officer during his years with the department, the younger Alexander would like to move up in the ranks with time. “I’d like to move up and expand to different things if I can,” she said.
But in the meantime, she wants the force to be as involved with the community as she remembers it being when she was a kid.
“I’m very big into involvement with the schools and with children,” she said. “So I want to do a lot of community policing and interacting with the kids.”
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