Syracuse Police Benevolent Association

06/04/2026

Congratulations to Det. D. Babbage (left) on his recent retirement from SPD, as he was recently issued his retirement baton, badge and challenge coin from PBA President Moran. Det. Babbage proudly served for over 30 years on the job, and he was a staple in the Special Investigations Division for a significant portion of his career, along with being a member on the SWAT team. Congratulations, and enjoy retirement, Det. Babbage!

05/31/2026

PBA VP D. Patti (left) and PBA President J. Moran (right) were proud to issue Sgt. B. Potts “Pottsy” (center) his retirement gifts at his send-off this past week at Patrol East. Sgt. B. Potts completed 20 years of excellent service at SPD, while wrapping up his career as a supervisor in the Special Investigations Division. Sgt. Potts also spent nearly a decade as the PBA Treasurer and will always be remembered as a true cop’s, cop. Congratulations, and enjoy retirement, Pottsy!

05/30/2026

PBA President Moran said: “I wish we had 50 more John Tassinis”…”Because if we did, it would help limit and reduce the mandated overtime that is being forced upon our members because of our staffing.”

Tassini is a rare breed. A workhorse.

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

K-9 Fato was appointed to the Syracuse Police Department in 2014 and was assigned to Ofc. K. Soderholm. Upon completion of K-9 Patrol and Narcotic Detector training, K-9 Fato became an integral part of the Syracuse Police Department’s K-9 Section until his retirement on August 30th, 2018.

Working with Ofc. Soderholm, K-9 Fato responded to 1,458 calls for service, during which he accounted for 2 tracks, 19 area searches, 7 handler protection calls, 95 building searches, 184 perimeter checks, 66 narcotics searches, and 17 criminal apprehensions. On multiple occasions, Ofc. Soderholm and K-Fato assisted the Syracuse Police Department’s SWAT team for high risk search operations; numerous other times they were called upon to assist other police agencies throughout Onondaga County. K-9 Fato’s contributions were of great merit and brought distinction to the K-9 Section, Ofc. Soderholm and the Syracuse Police Department.

K-9 Fato passed away on May 21st, 2026, with retired Ofc. Soderholm and his family.

05/27/2026

Congratulations to Det. E. Braun (left) on his retirement from SPD, as he proudly completed 20 years of service at the Department, while finishing his career in the Special Investigations Division. We’d also like to thank Det. Braun for his contributions to the PBA, as he served as the PBA assistant treasurer, and he also worked the PBA Flag Detail, placing memorial flags at the gravestones of our former members. Thank you, Det. Braun, and enjoy retirement!

05/25/2026

Happy Memorial Day from the Syracuse PBA! Remembering and honoring our military members who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the USA!

05/21/2026

A shout out to Det. I. Reynolds and Ofc. C. Reynolds for completing the PBA Flag Detail again this year! These guys travel throughout CNY and place memorial flags at our retirees’ gravestones…making sure they’re never forgotten! Thank you, boys!

05/20/2026

THE END OF AN ERA!

Yesterday, after 20 outstanding years of service, PBA Executive VP/Ofc. D. Ettinger retired from SPD! Ett goes down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, street cop of all time at SPD. For over a decade, Ett and his partner, Ofc. J. Decker, worked the streets as a partnership, and nobody did it better, which is why so many young cops aspired to be just like them…Unit 526.

However, as former SPD Retiree John Nolan once said…”people won’t remember the arrests you made, but they will remember the way you treated people”. Despite being the GOAT, Ett was humble, and he treated everyone with respect. His smile and positive attitude uplifted everyone he came in contact with, and he poured his heart into SPD.

We tip our hat to you, Ofc. Ettinger, and thank you for everything that you gave!

05/17/2026

The PBA was proud to present Det. T. Halsey her retirement gifts, as she recently completed 20 years of service at SPD! Det. Halsey spent the majority of her career on patrol, and concluded her career in the Crime Scene Unit as a detective. Congratulations, and enjoy retirement, Det. Halsey!