City of Long Beach New York Police Department

Long Beach Police Acting Commissioner Phil Ragona has announced that the Long Beach Police Department will be participating in a county wide "STOP DWI" initiative over the Labor Day weekend. This enforcement is being completely funded through a grant from the New York State STOP DWI Coordinators Association and by the Nassau County Traffic Safety STOP DWI program. Acting Commissioner Phil Ragona stated that there will be extra DWI Patrols throughout the City over the holiday weekend. If you are planning on consuming alcoholic beverages please don't drive.

An Important Message from Acting Police Commissioner Phil Ragona In order to protect the safety of our residents, employees and first responders, effective this Thursday, July 23 our beaches will now close at 8:00pm and our boardwalk at 9:00pm. This change will be in effect daily until further notice. In addition, we are now limiting the sale of non-resident daily passes to Monday through Thursday. Non-resident daily passes will not be sold Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Additional details about these changes will be discussed during tomorrow’s 7:00pm City Council meeting. The details will be posted on the City’s website shortly thereafter. Thank you for your attention and stay safe.

Nassau County will begin emergency repairs to the Long Beach Bridge tomorrow, Friday 7/17/2020, reducing the southbound span by one lane. The left lane will be closed from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Repairs will not take place this weekend. Work will resume on Monday, 7/20/2020. The right lane will be closed with a long term detour (24 hours). This detour will be in place for approximately one week. On or about Monday, 7/27/2020 the detour will switch to the left lane with a long term detour (24 hours). This detour will be in place for approximately one week.

Acting Police Commissioner Philip L. Ragona reports that on July 12, 2020 at approximately 8:08 AM, the Long Beach Police Department was notified of swimmers in distress at Long Beach Blvd and the Ocean Beach Park. The Long Beach Police Department and the Long Beach Fire Department were dispatched to the scene. The Long Beach Lifeguards were already present at the incident location. Three swimmers were removed from the ocean by the Long Beach Lifeguards. Two of the rescued swimmers sustained minor injuries and refused medical assistance at the scene. A third swimmer was removed from the ocean in cardiac arrest. This swimmer succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. This incident is under active investigation by the Long Beach Detective Division.

Nassau County DPW has notified us of the following emergency repairs on the Southbound lanes of the Long Beach Bridge. Nassau County DPW is scheduling to start work on the bridge as soon as Wednesday 7/15/2020. The work will be undertaken in two phases. The first phase requires a reduction of the travel lanes on the bridge down to one lane. The speed limit will be posted as 15 MPH. The first phase will take approximately one week. The second phase will allow the bridge to have two travel lanes open. This phase will take approximately one week to complete.

Acting Police Commissioner Philip L. Ragona announced that a Lynbrook man was sentenced on June 30, 2020 to concurrent sentences of 22 years to life in prison for Murder 2nd Degree, 7 to 21 years for Conspiracy, and 364 days for Criminal Possession of a Weapon, for a 2016 attack on his girlfriend’s mother that led to the woman’s death in 2018. On December 4, 2016, the victim, Theresa Kiel was repeatedly bludgeoned in the head by her daughter’s boyfriend, Ralph Keppler. The at...tack took place on New York Avenue in Long Beach. The victim sustained massive head trauma and remained in a vegetative state for nearly two year before dying from her injuries. Keppler, who worked as a New York City correction officer, was arrested at Rikers Island by members of the Long Beach Police Department on January 24, 2018 on attempted murder charges. Those charges were upgraded when Theresa Kiel passed away. Long Beach Police Detective Lieutenant, Stefan Chernaski and Detective Theodore Christianson led an exhaustive investigation by what was described in Court as tireless, determined and unrelenting, by Nassau County Senior Assistant District Attorney Stefanie Palma. The investigation uncovered a conspiracy involving the defendant’s girlfriend Francesca Kiel, who is also the victim’s daughter. Francesca Kiel is also charged with Murder and Conspiracy. Detectives found extensive planning, forensic countermeasures and the use of electronic GPS surveillance of the victim. Lieutenant William Dodge of the Long Beach Police Technical Assistance Response, and Detective Joseph Brady of the Nassau County Police Department Electronics Squad Detective combed through 1.7 million electronic files and extracted incriminating internet searches, including quickest ways to kill someone, weakest part of the skull, questions about DNA, techniques used by police during questioning, police response times and escape routes from the scene of the crime. In sentencing defendant Keppler, Judge Quinn commended the Long Beach Detective Division and Nassau County Police for old fashioned police work in a new tech age. Judge Quinn told Keppler I can’t imagine how dark your soul is to think this was your only solution to your financial problem. Acting Police Commissioner Philip Ragona commends the Long Beach Police Department, the Detective Division, the Technical Assistance Response Unit, and the Nassau County Police Department’s Electronics Squad for their diligent, and relentless investigative work on this case.

The Fourth of July is meant to be a fun and safe holiday. The Long Beach Police Department would like to remind residents that fireworks awareness and prevention are important issues to discuss with your family. It is important to mention that ALL fireworks are illegal in the state of New York. The possession, use, or sale of fireworks, including sparklers, is a violation of the New York State Penal Law, and may be punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. Parents should ta...lk with their children about the destructive outcomes that can occur from playing with fireworks. The Fourth of July Fireworks, although popular, can be extremely harmful. Fireworks statistics show that... According to the National Fire Protection Association , fireworks and sparkling devices start an average of 18,500 fires per year, including 1,300 structure fires , 300 vehicle fires and 16,900 outside and other fires. These fires caused an average of three deaths, 40 civilian injuries and an average of $43 million in direct property damage. Further, the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission's most recent data estimates about 12,900 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. Teenagers ages 15-19 have the highest rate of injuries, followed by children ages 5 to 9 years of age. The majority of injuries occur to the hands and fingers followed by the head, face and ears. There are many licensed professionals that perform fireworks presentations for the public. Attending a fireworks display is a fun and safe way to enjoy the holiday. The Long Beach Police Department would like to wish the residents of Long Beach a happy and safe July Fourth holiday.

On June 20, 2020 at approximately 8:00 PM, a Long Beach Police Officer conducting Beach Patrol reported a large crowd at Ocean Beach Park in the vicinity of Edwards Boulevard. Officers observed approximately 1,500 individuals on the beach. It was determined that the gathering was unannounced and consisted mostly of High School Students from various school districts. These individuals were respectful and peaceful. However, several unidentified individuals threw bottles at Police Vehicles and set-off fireworks in the direction of the Police including at vehicles and the Nassau County Police Helicopter. The Ocean Beach Park closes to the public at 11:00 PM and the Nassau County Police assisted in dispersing the crowd peacefully. There were no arrests or injuries.

Please be advised that one southbound travel lane on the Long Beach Bridge may be closed on Tuesday, 6/16/20 through Thursday 6/18/20 between 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in order to complete an inspection of the bridge. Once inspection of the southbound portion is completed, the Nassau County Department of Public Works will have to then close the northbound side of the bridge for inspection which should only require one day of closure. Once inspections and repair details are finished, lane closures may be needed to complete the repairs. Those dates will be determined at a later date.

Please note the following lane closures concerning bridge repair on the Barnum Island Bridge. The current repair schedule is as follows: The right lane in both directions will be closed on Monday, 6/15/20 from 7 am to 7 pm... The middle lane in both directions will be closed on Tuesday, 6/16/20 from 7 am to 7 pm The middle lane and left lane on the southbound side and the left lane on the northbound side will be closed on Wednesday, 6/17/20 from 7 am to 7 pm. The two lane closure on the southbound side is due to safety concerns. This work is weather dependent and may be pushed back if the material does not come in due to Covid-19 delays.