Maryland trooper honored for service

Trooper 1st Class Robert B. Rezza was recently named Maryland State Trooper of the Year for 2008.  Last year he made 20 drunken driving arrests and 88 criminal arrests, and also served 51 arrest warrants. He was recognized for his charity work helping needy children and families in Southern Maryland, where he works out of the Leonardtown Barracks. Rezza joined the state police in 2002, two days after he retired from the Prince George’s County Police Department after a 23-year career there.

Do you enjoy working as a state trooper after so many years as an officer in Prince George’s County?
I do. I made rank and became a detective early in my career, and I didn’t have a lot of time on the street once I was a detective. Most of my time was spent behind a desk on a telephone, doing interviews.  [Becoming a trooper] was an incentive to go back to working the road, which I find very liberating. Also, I work at a full-service barracks, which means we work side by side with the sheriff’s office. We handle all aspects of police work: burglaries, domestics, drug investigations, even rape and homicides. In some counties troopers only enforce traffic laws. It’s fortunate to work at a full-service barracks because we see the whole realm of law enforcement.

What does it mean to be named trooper of the year?
Personally it’s rewarding because I’m the oldest trooper at the barracks. My nickname is Pops. So I wanted to prove my value to the agency. I wanted to keep up with the younger troopers. The award shows me and others that I’m not here just to collect retirement pay or ease out of law enforcement.

How did you become interested in law enforcement?
My interest started back in high school. It seemed like a fun, exciting and rewarding job. If you have the inclination to do it, there are a hundred different job specialties you can go into. As it turned out, I always loved working patrol, working the streets and meeting people.

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