Two Village Officers Promoted Friday

Two of East Hampton's finest will soon have new ranks.

The East Hampton Village Board approved the promotions of Village Police Detective Gregory J. Brown to sergeant, and Police Officer Steven B. Sheades to detective, effective May 1.

Chief Jerry Larsen made the recommendations to the board, following the retirement of Lt. Richard Schneider in February.

Trustee Richard Lawler, the police commissioner, congratulated the officers when presenting them with their new badges, but allowed their fathers to do the honors.

Retired East Hampton Village Police Lt. Ken Brown and Steve Sheades, the former chief public safety dispatcher for the Town of East Hampton, pinned their son's new badges on their uniforms.

Brown started working for the department in 1993 as a part-time police officer. He became a full-time officer in 1999, and rose to the rank of detective in 2007. Larsen said he volunteered to work with the East End Drug Task Force. He has earned countless department awards, including Police Officer of the Year several times. "If I were to sum up Greg's career with one word it would be 'outstanding,'" Larsen said.

Sheades first started working for the department when he was just 15, as a traffic control officer in 1996. He became a full-time police officer in 2004, and has since earned the Top Cop award from Suffolk County.

Larsen said he was "instrumental" in achieving the department's accreditation. "I personally thank him for that as it is a huge amount of work," he said.

Larsen finished by saying, "I cannot say enough kind words about these two men."Brown will make $130,659 annually, and Sheades will make $115,184 annually.