Longboat Key Police Department welcomes experienced NYPD officer

The Longboat Key Police Department’s newest officer has felt a connection to law enforcement since childhood. Now he hopes to build connections with the community on Longboat Key. 

Justin Ramsaier was sworn in on June 2 after moving to the island from New York. He retired from a 17-year career with the New York City Police Department and is eager to serve Longboat’s community. 

“I’m mostly looking forward to becoming ingratiated with the community,” Ramsaier said. “Living out here on Longboat, I have a vested interest in keeping Longboat safe and getting to know the residents and businesses on a personal level.”

During his 17 years with the NYPD, Ramsaier said he received some meritorious and exemplary police awards for certain cases. But he said he is most proud of the work he did during the last five years of his NYPD career. 

“I worked in a small unit that had a big impact on a larger scale and worked with a bunch of great teammates,” Ramsaier said. “The last five years were probably the best part of my career because we were able to develop curriculum for the department for officer safety and various tactics that can be used in situations out there to make our officers safe.” 

Ramsaier grew up in New Jersey, where he said his community had a close relationship with law enforcement. This foundation, combined with a desire to help people from a young age, led him to pursue a career in law enforcement. 

Longboat Key is familiar ground for Ramsaier. Though he grew up and worked in the northeast most of his life, he said he has been vacationing on the island for 30 years at a family condo. Ramsaier met his wife, Magally, while working together at the NYPD and continued the Longboat vacation tradition with her. In 2019, they decided this was the place they wanted to retire to and bought a condo of their own. 

Aside from needing to get used to a new department’s lingo, Ramsaier is confident he will be able to serve without skipping a beat.