At a glance
University Police recently added Officer Mario J. Dragone as the newest member of the police department.
University Police recently added Officer Mario J. Dragone as the newest member of the police department.
University Police Chief Matt Heller said, “We’re pleased to welcome Mario to our ranks. Along with being an accomplished police officer, he served in the military from 1999 to 2005 as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve. During his service, he was a radio operator and last held the rank of sergeant. He was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and was a responder after the World Trade Center attacks in New York City in 2001.”
Dragone is not new to the SUNY system or to University Police (UP). In 2012, he started his service with UP at the University at Buffalo (UB) as a campus public safety officer (CPSO), a position he held for nearly two years. As a CPSO, his main duties were the effective handling of all calls received at the dispatch center and dispatching police, fire, and EMS resources. In 2014, Dragone completed his basic course for police at the Erie County Law Enforcement Academy and was promoted to University Police officer 1. Dragone then worked at UB as a police officer for two more years.
During his tenure at UB, he received hours of mandatory in-service training and completed New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services courses in RADAR/LIDAR, Crisis Intervention, Naloxone, and Law Enforcement Bicycle Patrol. In 2016, Dragone transferred to the Amherst Police Department, where he became Taser certified.
After completing high school in Rochester, Dragone enrolled at the University at Buffalo and majored in history.
As part of his duties at Alfred State, Dragone is looking forward to providing educational programming in the residence halls, speaking to groups, and assisting in the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program.