{"id":96726,"date":"2019-11-19T23:20:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T04:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=96726"},"modified":"2019-11-19T23:20:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T04:20:29","slug":"police-promotions-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=96726","title":{"rendered":"POLICE PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Allentown Mayor Ray O\u2019Connell and Chief of Police Glenn Granitz Jr. today announced the promotion of seven police officers during a ceremony in City Council Chambers.<\/p>\n

Michael Becker and Alicia Conjour have been promoted to captain.\u00a0 Matthew Vargo and Karl Kozlowski have been promoted to lieutenant and Benjamin Iobst, Justin Motz and John Leonard have been promoted to sergeant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are acting to fill leadership vacancies brought on by retirements and other promotions,\u201d said O\u2019Connell.\u00a0 \u201cChief Granitz is assembling a team to meet the challenges of the city and move the department forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granitz said, \u201cThese men and women represent the quality of officer that the Allentown Police Department is proud to have among our ranks. These officers are proven leaders, who have gone above and beyond throughout their careers and our expectation is that they will continue on this path. Promoting the first-ever female Center City Police Captain is a testament to the diversity that is increasing throughout our department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Captain Becker is a graduate of Panther Valley High School and holds an Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Lehigh Carbon Community College.\u00a0 He was hired in August 2006 and was assigned to the 1st<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0\u00a0 He then worked center city patrol, on 4th platoon night shift, before being assigned to the Police Academy in 2012 as the lead firearms instructor. In November 2013, he was promoted to sergeant and was the Assistant Director of Training\/School Director for the Academy.\u00a0 In August 2017, he was assigned as a supervisor on the 4th platoon, then promoted to lieutenant of the 4th platoon in September 2018.\u00a0 He was promoted to captain in August 2019 and assigned to administration.\u00a0 Captain Becker has received three commendations:\u00a0 one for valor, one for bravery, and one for achievement.\u00a0 He is a 10-year member of the Emergency Response Team, half of which was as a Team Leader.\u00a0 He is also a combat veteran, U.S. Army National Guard, having served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.<\/p>\n

Captain Conjour graduated from Whitehall High School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina.\u00a0 She was hired in June 2003 and assigned to the 3rd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 She was promoted to the rank of sergeant in January 2011 and assigned to the 2nd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 She also worked on the 4th<\/sup> platoon and spent a year working in the vice unit.\u00a0 She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in August 2017 and assigned to the 3rd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 She was promoted to the rank of captain in November 2019 and is in-charge of PSA IV.\u00a0 Captain Conjour has received five commendations:\u00a0 two for bravery, one for heroism, and two for merit.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant Vargo is a graduate of Salisbury High School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Kutztown University.\u00a0 He was hired in April 2000 and was assigned to the 4th<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 In February 2008, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was assigned to the 3rd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 In August 2019, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assigned to the 4th<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 Lieutenant Vargo has received four commendations: two for bravery and two for achievement.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant Kozlowski graduated from Bethlehem Catholic High School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice from Penn State University.\u00a0 He was hired in March 2002 and assigned to the 1st<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in January 2014 and assigned to the 2nd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 He has been on the Emergency Response Team since 2007 and currently holds a position of assistant tactical commander.\u00a0 He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in November 2019 and assigned to the 1st<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 Lieutenant Kozlowski has received six commendations:\u00a0 two for bravery, three for merit and one for achievement.<\/p>\n

Sergeant Iobst graduated from Stroudsburg High School and holds a Masters degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.\u00a0 He was hired in March 2007 and served as patrolman on the 3rd<\/sup> platoon, hostage negotiator, honor guard member and current commander, and youth detective.\u00a0 He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in August 2019 and assigned to the 3rd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 Sergeant Iobst received five commendations: three for merit and two for achievement.\u00a0 Sergeant Iobst is also the recipient of LBC Ministries \u2013 Law Enforcement Perseverance Award and a U.S. Army combat veteran.<\/p>\n

Sergeant Motz is a graduate of Tamaqua Area High School and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Lebanon Valley College.\u00a0 He was hired in June 2003 and patrolled Center City while assigned to the 2nd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 In February 2012, he was assigned to the identification unit.\u00a0 In April 2019, he was assigned to the digital evidence unit.\u00a0 He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in November 2019.\u00a0 Sergeant Motz has received six commendations:\u00a0 three for bravery, one for heroism and two for merit. Sergeant Motz is a U.S Army veteran.<\/p>\n

Sergeant Leonard graduated from Upper Darby High School and is currently attending American Military University working toward his bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice.\u00a0 He was hired in May 2012 and assigned to the 2nd<\/sup> platoon.\u00a0 He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in November 2019.\u00a0 Sergeant Leonard has received four commendations: one for heroism, one for bravery, one for merit and one for achievement.\u00a0 Sergeant Leonard is a U.S. Air Force veteran and served in Iraq as an Explosive Detection K9 Handler.\u00a0 He is a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal Outstanding Unit Award, tow Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon.<\/p>\n

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Information provided to TVL by:
\nMike Moore
\nCommunications Manager
\nMayor’s Office
\n435 Hamilton Street
\nAllentown, PA 18101
\nMike.Moore@allentownpa.gov
\nhttp:\/\/www.AllentownPA.gov<\/p>\n

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