NEW YORK STATE — A law enforcement officer, a coach, a school board member and a union leader; lifelong Sullivan County resident Timothy Dymond continues to lead his community in a variety of ways hot off the heels of his recent reelection as the fifth President of the New York State Police Investigators Association (NYSPIA).

Each of these roles gives perspective on the importance of teamwork and unity for Dymond. As President of NYSPIA, the State Police Investigators’ labor union over a 1,000 members strong, he noted he has worked to uphold the needs and perspectives of the union since his initial election three years ago. 

Prior to his joining the union, Dymond said he did not envision his future self to hold his current title, but saw a spot in which he could do good by his neighbors and colleagues in 2020 following the prominent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the height of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Dymond saw the state of the police unions and knew there had to be some changes.

“There was a message coming from law enforcement that was ‘we are right, you are wrong’ and that was not the right message, in my opinion,” Dymond said. “The message should be ‘we can improve like any other profession’, and while we do many things really well, there are things we could improve upon,” he said.

“People had to step up,” he said. “I was barely a union guy, I rarely went to union meetings, but when I saw the turmoil our profession was facing I said I need to get involved because I think I can help.”

According to the reelected president, that new message was well received by members of the NYSPIA.

Beginning on his path to where he is today, Dymond, a former Woodbourne resident and graduate of Tri-Valley High School, sought to keep his community safe via law enforcement after completing his studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Dymond, a former New York Police Department officer, joined the New York State Police in 2008 and upon graduating the academy was assigned to the SP barracks in Liberty. 

“I had such a solid foundation growing up in this county that it was nice to come back after college,” Dymond said. “I came back and decided to raise my family here.”

He was later promoted to Investigator and assigned to the Middletown barracks in 2012, and two years later, transferred to the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team. After a few years on the team, he saw a promotion to Senior Investigator and in 2019, was assigned to the Troop F Violent Gang Narcotics Enforcement Team. This included involvement in high-level gang and drug trafficking cases in Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties.

Outside of union leadership and law enforcement, Dymond upholds similar values on the sports field as a volunteer Assistant Coach of Tri-Valley football and girls’ basketball and Coach of Bear Cub youth basketball. He also serves as Vice President of the Tri-Valley School Board.

“For many kids in the county, sports are the safest and best part of their day,” Dymond said. “Not only are we trying to teach them a sport we are trying to teach them life skills so they can be successful adults.  Sports are a great way to teach young people about leadership, teamwork and commitment.”

The president also noted the importance of protecting the mental well-being of the union members and their families.

“It is just so important that our first responders have union support,” Dymond noted. “We have to protect and support the members of law enforcement because the things they are dealing with are very difficult to process, and I think that a lot of the time, when people don’t feel support, that’s when they fall apart.”

On top of being named the Academic award winner of his academy class, then the Troop F Trooper of the Year in 2012, Dymond has been a part of a number of impactful wiretap investigations locally, such as Operation Betrayal. He has also taught a number of courses at the New York State Police undercover operations school.  

Despite raising his sights to encompass the greater surrounding area with his police work, Dymond noted that his heart still beats for the betterment of the county he grew up in.

“I liked policing my home area,” Dymond said. “It was nice to help my community, my neighbors.”

“I really got to see the impact of those cases on the local community, and just how much more of an impact it has on the small communities versus doing the same case in a large city. Here, we have a real impact.”