History Made As 1st Hispanic Woman Rises To 3-Star Chief In Suffolk

YAPHANK, NY — It was just in time for International Women's Day.

The trailblazing police woman, Milagros Soto, made history on Thursday when she was promoted to the Suffolk County Police Department's Chief of Operations, a three-star designation in the quasi-military organization.

She is the highest-ranking woman in the department's 65-year history.

Sotos made department history in 2023 when she was promoted to the position of assistant chief overseeing the department's Internal Affairs Bureau, the section charged with investigating misconduct.

In 2021 she was promoted to the rank of deputy chief, making her the first Hispanic woman to achieve the rank.

Other promotions include William Doherty to Chief of Detectives, Matt McCormick to chief of patrol, Vincent Maronski to Deputy Chief of Operations, and Paul Hyland to inspector.

Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina described Soto as a trailblazer in law enforcement.

"She is an incredible person, beloved by the community, and beloved by the police department," he said. "She is going to do a phenomenal job."

Catalina stressed the significance of the promotions.

"These are not people who took tests necessarily to get these promotions," he said. "They got these promotions because they're great at what they do, and we had discretion to promote them. So that's why they're standing here today. And I think those promotions are always the most important in policing. They were the ones that excelled, and, you know, were able to advance in their positions because of that."

County Executive Ed Romaine described the promoted personnel are the future of the department.

"We're going to lead this department so it is one that we can be not only proud of, but one that we can feel safe about in Suffolk County," he said. "These are the men and women that are going to make this county and this police department."

In a post to Facebook, Legis. James Mazzarella said he was honored to stand alongside Romaine and Catalina today as they announced the new leadership team and described it as a "historic moment" as Soto became the highest-ranking female officer.