New Commissioner promotes three RVC Cops

Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Randy Dodd was sworn in on Aug. 7 in front of family, friends, law enforcement professionals, village officials, and members of the public. For his first official action as acting commissioner of the department, Dodd announced the promotion of three members of the force.

Nick DeLuca was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and officers Salju Thomas and Joseph Burnside were promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Lt. DeLuca first graduated from the Westchester Police Academy at the top of his class in 2011, where he earned the highest award, “Best All Around Recruit.”

In 2014, DeLuca was selected to be the Rockville Centre Police Department’s Youth Officer, where he worked closely with the Youth Council.

He was later promoted to Detective, heading up the Juvenile Crimes Division in 2016. Deluca was then promoted to sergeant in September of 2018 where he supervised the Juvenile and Anti-Crime Divisions, supported the Patrol Division, and served as the department’s operations sergeant.

Outside of his commitment to his role as the operations sergeant, Deluca also assists in the Training Department and built and manages the police website and parking application.

Lieutenant DeLuca is a DCJS certi - fied instructor, an FBI firearms instructor, Active shooter instructor, Taser instructor,defensive tactics instructor, and network engineer. He currently serves as the vice president of the New York Police Juvenile Officers Association and is slated to become the president this year.

Sgt. Thomas was born in India and immigrated to the United States in 1985. As a first-generation immigrant, he felt the call for service and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school.

He served honorably for the next ten years with multiple deployments including to Iraq in 2004 and 2005. He was honorably discharged in 2008 and attended Hofstra University, where he graduated with honors in 2010 with a bachelor’s in Public Relations.

He joined the Rockville Centre Police Department in 2014 and has been awarded numerous commendations including a plain bar for stopping a violent assault in progress.

Thomas is also a volunteer firefighter with the Garden City Park Fire Department where he served as chief of the department in 2020.

Sgt. Burnside, a Rockville Centre native, obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biological Science from the University of Albany.

Burnside comes from a long line of law enforcement. His father, Joseph Burnside, and his aunt, Majorie, were both NYPD officers with the Robbery Task Force in Queens. His grandfather, Joseph Burnside, was also a Detective in the 71st Precinct, and his other grandfather, Dennis Cunningham, served as an Inspector in Special Operations.

Before coming to Rockville Centre, Officer Burnside worked for the NYPD in the 83rd precinct in Bushwick.

He officially joined the RVC Police Department in May 2017, and has proven himself to be an asset to the force.

In March 2021, Burnside received a commendation for a foot pursuit leading to the arrest of three individuals for burglary.

“Lieutenant DeLuca, Sergeant Thomas, and Sergeant Burnside are exemplary members of the Rockville Centre Police Department and truly earned this honor,” Mayor Murray stated. “I am immensely proud and grateful of them and our entire Police Department for their commitment to protecting our great Village.”