From the archives: Cop of the Month, Officer Joseph Olivieri of the 7th precinct

This article was originally published on March 23, 2003

For recovering a stolen car and making an arrest, Officer Joseph Olivieri was named the Seventh Precinct's Cop of the Month.

On Feb. 16, 2002, Olivieri was on routine patrol in the Massapequa area. Because of a rash of car thefts and store burglaries, he was conducting random license plate checks. About 5 o'clock in the morning, he came upon a car on Sunrise Highway that had been reported stolen by the New York Police Department a few days earlier.

As a matter of precaution, Olivieri called for assistance and followed the car. Then he pulled the car over at the intersection of Broadway and Sunrise Highway with the help of other officers who had arrived.

"At a red light, we boxed her in so she couldn't move," Olivieri said of the driver.

She and two male passengers were questioned, and the woman was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and driving while intoxicated.

Olivieri has been on the Nassau police force for five years and served five years previously with the New York City Police Department. A father of two, he lives in Suffolk.