Police

‘Sgt. Mommy’ comes from a family of police officers

Sgt. Kubetz pictured in 2012 at the Police Athletic League's annual Bike Rodeo at Stotzky Park. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)
Sgt. Kubetz pictured in 2012 at the Police Athletic League’s annual Bike Rodeo at Stotzky Park. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

She was familiar with the police officer lifestyle, having seen how her father worked: the late nights, holidays and birthdays spent working.

And Sgt. Kubetz threw herself into the job. She became a member of the department’s Community-Oriented Police Enforcement unit and worked with Council for Unity, Riverhead High School’s anti-gang student group.

“It’s such a unique program,” she said. “Getting to talk to the kids … it’s phenomenal. You don’t get [that kind of] opportunity to talk to that population of kids in that kind of environment.”

Sgt. Kubetz even came to work when she was in labor with her second daughter, Julia, now 2. She joked that she decided to stay at work a little longer so she could eat her breakfast in peace before giving birth. Eventually, her commanding officer got word she was in the building and sent her home.

For the past several years, Sgt. Kubetz has studied to take the promotional exams required to advance in the department; she was the department’s top scorer on the most recent test.

That kind of work ethic is what the department is looking for, Chief David Hegermiller said.

“I think it’s an important part of the Riverhead police department that you have all these officers who are involved … they really want to be part of the community they serve. I feel she’ll be a great addition,” Chief Hegermiller said.

Sgt. Kubetz will now oversee the town’s court officers, the property officer, warrant investigations and the central records division.

“It’s a lot of things to learn,” she said.

Sgt. Kubetz’s promotion comes as the number of women in the Riverhead police department wanes due to retirements and a resignation.

But Riverhead still employs several female officers, like Det. Evelyn Hobson, who was Riverhead’s first black female police officer and the first female detective in the department’s history.

Chief Hegermiller said he’s happy the town has hired its first female sergeant.

“I think it’s a great plus, an added benefit,” he said. “It does give us that other facet that we haven’t had.”

But it’s not important that Sgt. Kubetz is a woman, he said. It’s that she’s a valuable and dedicated member of the force.

“She’s a great officer regardless of her sex,” Chief Hegermiller said.

Sgt. Kubetz said the Riverhead police force is a “family” and that the support of her own family has also meant a lot to her, allowing her to further her career while being a mother to two children. She also has a third on the way.

“Now, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” Sgt. Kubetz said.

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