NYPD Chief of Special Operations Wilson Aramboles traded his dream of teaching for a badge and a 38-year career with New York’s Finest after a brutal neighborhood robbery hit too close to home.
The 60 year old top cop — who immigrated from the Dominican Republic at age 10—was a City College student when his mother was robbed on the Lower East Side.
“My mother was a victim of a crime,” he recalled of the chain snatching. “That kind of changed me, and I wanted to give back to the community.”
He grew up in the Lillian Wald Houses, a city housing project on Avenue D in the East Village, and decided to go to college after graduating from high school.
“It was a culture change,” he said of relocating from his birthplace. “I had to learn the language, the culture, coming in into a new country.”
He joined the NYPD in 1988 despite his mother’s fears over the career switch, he said.
“It was very rewarding,” he said of becoming a cop. “I had a goal in mind to help the community.”
His mom eventually came around and was proud of him, he noted.
He started out in precincts in northern Manhattan and found that he could help people in need because he had a similar background.
He went on to became the Commanding Officer of the 33rd Precinct in Washington Heights. From there, he moved on to Bronx Narcotics and was part of several large drug busts.
In one of his cases, the NYPD confiscated about nine kilos of cocaine, he recalled.
“One of my undercovers was shot in that case, which was a very emotional case because I was very close with the undercover,” he said, adding that the cop survived and has retired.
Aramboles went on to serve in several other units.
He now oversees the Emergency Service Unit (ESU), Aviation, Harbor, Mounted, and the Strategic Response Group.
He remembers being one of only five cops from the Dominican Republic working in the 33rd precinct — but today, 75% of the officers in the precinct are from the island.
“I am proud of my Dominican heritage,” he said. “My culture has taught me the importance of family, faith, humility and hard work. Those values have guided me throughout my life.”
And on Sunday, the kid who arrived in New York at 10 will return to Manhattan’s streets in a very different role — as one of the city’s highest-ranking Dominican cops, marching in Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade.
“The United States allowed a young boy from the Dominican Republic to receive an education, build a meaningful career as one of the highest Dominican executives in the NYPD and dedicate his life to public service,” he said.
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