Please find and view the most up to date news and information regarding the Town of New Windsor Police Department listed below.
Man Shot Following Dispute - Issued April 8, 2026
This is a joint press release by the New Windsor Police Dept. and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Release Date – September 23, 2020: The Town of New Windsor Police Department arrested a man today following an ongoing investigation into a hit and run motor vehicle crash. The crash involved multiple parked cars in a parking lot off of State Route 300 in New Windsor and no one was injured in the crash. Immediately after receiving a report of the crash, New Windsor police officers located the motor vehicle that caused the accident and its operator several miles away after it had fled the scene. As part of their investigation, the officers found the vehicle’s operator to be in possession of substances that they believed to be illegal drugs. The vehicle operator identified himself as a police officer and he stated that he was in possession of the substances in his official capacity as a police officer. Further investigation determined that the driver did not legally possess the substances as part of his police authority and lab confirmation determined that the substances involved were in fact a quantity of cocaine and a hallucinogenic drug known as MDMA. Arrested was: Carlos Mendez, age 41 of Middletown, NY. Mr. Mendez is employed by the City of Newburgh Police Department as a Police Officer. He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 4th degree (D-class felony), Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree (A-class misdemeanor), official misconduct (A-class misdemeanor) and leaving the scene of a property damage motor vehicle accident (traffic infraction). He was arraigned before Town Justice Noreen Calderin and released as required by state law with no bail and a mandatory appearance ticket to appear in town court on October 13, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. for further court action. New Windsor Police Chief Robert Doss stated, “Every police officer takes an oath of office when they are appointed to their position and when that oath is violated, it falls upon other police officers to hold the line and do what is right. That is exactly what happened in this case. No one is above the law, especially police officers. I commend the New Windsor police officers that investigated this complaint to its fullest extent and I would expect nothing less from them.” Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler stated, “I thank the Town of New Windsor Police Department for their professionalism and diligence on this case. It is always disappointing when there is an allegation that a police officer has engaged in criminal conduct, and even more so when it is alleged that an officer has used his badge to attempt to hide from his crimes. No one is above the law. Thankfully, instances of police officers committing the types crimes alleged here are rare, particularly here in Orange County, where the vast majority of our police officers behave honorably and legally in risking their lives every day to keep our residents and property safe. When allegations of criminal police misconduct are made, they must be diligently investigated and acted upon.”
The New Windsor Police Department will not be releasing the booking photograph in this case due to it being prohibited under New York Public Officers Law, Section 89, which was amended in mid-2019 to prohibit the release of booking photographs due to it being an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”. A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Man Arrested Following A Stabbing in New Windsor
Arrests Made Following Search Warrant
New Windsor Police Recover Firearms Following Domestic Incident
See attached press release regarding a loaded hand gun recovered during a traffic stop.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE #23-06 Issued on: May 15, 2023
This year, in honor of Police Week, New Windsor Police Chief Dan Valeri, along with Lieutenant Matt Monahan, Sergeant Hannah Lake, PBA President Frank Volpe and School Safety Officer Hardy Pierce, participated in this year’s Virtual National Police Week Memorial 5K – a race uniting thousands of law enforcement officers and their supporters to remember those officers killed in the line of duty. Chief Valeri ran in honor of Sergeant Vincent Oliva and Officer John Cortazzo of the Port Authority Police Department, both of whom died as a result of illnesses sustained during the rescue and recovery efforts following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Chief Valeri was a classmate of Cortazzo and a student of Oliva when he attended the Port Authority Police Explosive Detection Canine School in 2001. Lt. Monahan ran in honor of NYPD Officer Patrick Monroe who died as a result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Officer Monroe was the uncle of New Windsor Officer Joseph Finnerty. Sgt. Lake dedicated her run to the memory of NYPD Detective Michael Hanson. Det. Hanson died of a neurological illness which was likely attributed to his response to the 9/11 World Trade Center Attack. His family is still awaiting the line of duty death designation. Officer Pierce, who is assigned as the School Safety Officer at the Little Britain Elementary School, ran with school employees Todd Grodin, Marisa Sitko, Lindsey Krause and Jeanna Santagato, who chose to join his team for the event. Together they ran in honor of Officer Breann Leath. Officer Leath was an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer who was shot and killed on April 9, 2020 while responding to a domestic disturbance. In addition to honoring the fallen officers, Chief Valeri created the team to participate in this year’s event to promote wellness and unity within the department. He also ran the 3.1 miles in his department issued bulletproof vest as a reminder to officers that there is no good reason not to wear their body armor. The National Police Week 5K is presented by The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring America’s fallen law enforcement heroes. As the largest law enforcement memorial in the United States, ODMP preserves the memories of 26,000+ fallen officers in its online memorial and reflection pages.
[PHOTO CAPTIONS] NWPD team members (left to right) Lt. Monahan, Chief Valeri, Sgt. Lake and PBA President Volpe. Little Britain School team members (left to right) Todd Grodin, Marisa Sitko, Lindsey Krause, Jeanna Santagato and School Safety Officer Hardy Pierce.