Riverhead officer honored for defusing armed standoff
Last week, Riverhead police officer Joseph Trivelli was awarded the 2024 Police Officer of the Year Award by the Kiwanis Club of Southampton for his response to an incident in which a Mastic man was holed up at his father’s Riverhead concrete company, firing an AR 15-style assault rifle and telling police “his intention was suicide by cop.”
Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost said in an interview this week that Mr. Trivelli’s “strong communications skills,” and the rapport he developed with the suspect, “made it a successful, safe conclusion for the individual and obviously the police officers that were there.”
The Riverhead News-Review reported on the Jan. 21, 2024 incident, in which police said Anthony Almeida, 43, fired multiple shots from a rifle and then remained holed up inside the building for nearly three hours before surrendering.
The incident drew numerous law enforcement agencies — including Suffolk County Police hostage negotiators — to Cross Island Concrete on Kroemer Avenue.
Mr. Almeida “attempted to enter Joseph Almeida’s [his father] locked office while holding a Ruger 9mm rifle in his hands,” according to case records reviewed by the News-Review.
Mr. Almeida announced “multiple times that his intention was suicide by cop,” according to a Riverhead PBA Facebook post about Mr. Trivelli’s role in the incident.
“When the defendant was asked to go downstairs, he fired about four shots from the Ruger 9mm before going downstairs,” Riverhead police said at the time.
Police say the younger Almeida then “barricaded” himself inside the building, remaining there until being taken into custody just before 7 p.m., authorities said.
Chief Frost said Mr. Trivelli did an “excellent job with de-escalation.”
“He’s a fine officer, and he knows what he’s doing,” the chief said. “He’s definitely a valuable asset to our department and the community as a whole.”
Mr. Almaeida’s attorney, Daniel G. Rodgers, said his client has turned his life around since the incident a year ago and just this week pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor to end the case.
“This was as young man who had some issues, but through the help of the court and the probation department, has turned his life around and is doing well.”
In addition to Riverhead Police detectives and a K-9 unit, the Suffolk County Police Emergency Services, Hostage Negotiation and Electronic Investigations responded to the scene — as well as the New York State Police, Southold Police Department, New York State Environmental Conservation Police and the Riverhead Fire Department and Town Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
