Officers transfer to PCPD to be closer to home
December 5, 2024 at 12:42 a.m.
The two newest Port Chester police officers are no strangers to the job or the Village.
Luis Marino and Kevin Iglesias have worked in law enforcement for a cumulative total of seven years, in New York City and Bronxville, respectively.
Iglesias was hired as a Port Chester police officer with a start date of Oct. 25, while Marino started on Nov. 20. Each has a starting salary of $71,000 and together they bring the number of officers in the department to 60.
Both are now serving the community they have strong ties to and a passion for.
Iglesias has spent most of his life in Port Chester. He owns a business on Midland Avenue and is raising his family here.
And Marino, though he grew up in New Rochelle, has a name recognizable to many—his father has been the mayor since 2021.
Luis Marino
Marino is a firm believer that if you live in the state, you’ll find your way to the Village somehow.
“No matter where you live in New York, you’ll come to Port Chester,” he said. “There’s just something about it that brings people here. Even if you leave, you end up coming back here.”
He himself fell victim to the Port Chester pull—he only spent two years in the Village before moving to New Rochelle.
“I pretty much grew up in New Rochelle,” Marino said. “That’s where I realized I wanted to become a police officer.”
The 29-year-old said he saw the impact police officers made on peoples’ lives around him and wanted to have that effect on others.
“As a police officer, you’re able to help people out while they’re at their lowest or correct someone when they make a bad decision and lead them into better ones,” he said. “So I really started working on getting myself there.”
After graduating from high school, he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from John Jay College and applied to the largest police force in the U.S.
“I always wanted to start my career at the NYPD,” Marino said. “It’s a big department with a lot of different units. I think when most people think about a police officer or a department, they picture NYPD.”
He started as a cop in 2019 and quickly explored the opportunities the department had.
“Even from the start of my career, I knew I didn’t want to be a patrolman the whole time,” he said. “I moved around as much as I could. I was a neighborhood coordination officer, a member of a conditions team and was part of a citywide pickpocket unit.”
The job in the City kept Marino busy, but the long commute left him yearning for more time with his family.
“I spend most of my time off-duty with my wife Nicole,” he said. “And I wanted to be closer to home.”
The now West Harrison resident said he liked the idea of working in the Village of Port Chester because of its similarities to his old job.
“It seemed like a good transition for me,” Marino said. “It’s a much smaller place, but it’s very diverse and seemed like an area with a fast pace.”
During the transfer application process, Marino learned he’d be entering another phase of his life: fatherhood.
“My wife and I found out we were pregnant in February,” he said. “With the baby coming and me starting a new job, it was a lot to juggle. But my wife and I are pretty much always on the same page, so I think we’ll be fine.”
During his time in New York City, his father was elected mayor of Port Chester. While he says it has given his coworkers something to joke about, he’s made sure it hasn’t impacted his professional life.
“We always made sure to keep our business and family apart,” he said. “I know he recused himself whenever it came to talking about me working here.”
His first day on the streets of Port Chester was Nov. 20, though he’s already looking forward to what the future will bring.
“I’m always looking to expand myself to be better and to know more,” he said. “I’d love to move up the ranks here or become a detective. I don’t know what it’ll be, but I’ll be doing something more in Port Chester.”
Kevin Iglesias
Iglesias found his way to the Village when his parents immigrated from Bolivia.
“I like to say grew up and was raised in Port Chester,” he said. “I was here until eighth grade when I moved to Greenwich, Conn., but I came back after I graduated high school.”
Like many of his peers, Iglesias knew he wanted to be police officer at a young age. But he understood then that it wasn’t an option for him.
“I was always interested in it, but I never made it a goal for myself,” the Port Chester resident said. “I couldn’t because I never thought it was achievable. I wasn’t a citizen.”
Instead, he took after his father and became a mechanic.
“My dad has had his own shop here in Port Chester for over 20 years,” the 34-year-old said. “I grew up in the trade. He taught me everything I know; I didn’t go to school for it.”
When Iglesias turned 19, he partnered with his brother to open RDK Auto Service at 111 Midland Ave.
“I was a little skeptical at first because I didn’t know anything about that kind of thing,” he laughed. “And it was definitely a struggle at first. We started off with maybe one customer a week, but eventually it started growing.”
However, Iglesias earned his citizenship in 2019, and he realized he could make his dream of becoming a police officer a reality.
“I’ve been a dad for a little while now, and it really changed my mentality for a lot of things,” he said. “And it’s not like I wasn’t making a good living from being a mechanic, I just started thinking more about securing a future for them.”
He found a sense of stability in a career in law enforcement but didn’t want to take the plunge alone.
“I actually forced my cousin to take the test with me,” Iglesias said. “I got hired in Bronxville two years ago and Chris ended up here.”
The late Officer Chris Bernal was hired by the Village in 2023, where he worked until he died in an off-duty motorcycle accident on July 7—an incident the community mourned.
“That was hard,” Iglesias said. “We had always talked about working here together. I’m the older one, so when we talked about it, I would joke that I didn’t want to. But in my heart, I wanted it. I think it would have been a really great time.”
When he finalized his transfer to the Port Chester police force in October, Iglesias took badge number 148—which previously belonged to Bernal.
“We were always very close. I’m dedicating my time here to him,” he said. “I’m going to do 20 years here for him.”
Iglesias plans to end his career in the Village and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the other police officers in his life.
“My brother-in-law Joe Romanello is a detective here, so I definitely want to make it happen here,” he said. “Port Chester has always been home, so I’m going to finish out my time here.”
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