Madison County Sheriff will be keynote speaker at Morrisville State College commencement May 17

Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley will be the keynote speaker at Morrisville State's commencement, which will be held Saturday, May 17 at 1 p.m., in the college's Recreation Center.



An experienced law enforcement official, Riley was a member of the New York State Police for 28 years, serving as a criminal investigator, gaming unit investigator and a uniformed trooper. He was also a K-9 handler for 18 years, for both narcotics and explosive detection dogs, and worked on numerous search and rescue details.



Retiring from the NYSP to run for sheriff, he was sworn in January 2010 and is the county's first African American sheriff. He was recently named by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve on the juvenile justice commission aimed at raising the age of criminal responsibility. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the New York State Sheriff's Institute and the New York State Association for Incarcerated Education Programs, serves as Chairman of the Native Affairs Committee and serves on the Legislative and Standards and Goals Committee for the New York State Sheriff's Association.



Riley attended Morrisville State and is a 1983 graduate of the New York State Police Academy. His training includes evidence handling, DNA collection, interrogation and interviewing, casino due diligence, anthrax training, clandestine labs, domestic violence, sexual harassment, hostage/critical incident command, hazardous materials and U.S. Customs narcotics officer-cross designation.



A lifelong resident of Madison County, Riley resides in Earlville with his wife Carol, a Morrisville alum, and their two daughters. They own and operate a 110-acre, pasture-based beef operation.