Methuen Police are congratulating Kevin Dzioba and Derek Licata—two of four officers recently receiving promotions.
Dzioba and Licata were both promoted from patrolman to sergeant in January.
Dzioba started his career in law enforcement in 1989 as an auxiliary police officer and an intermittent dispatcher for the department. In December of 1995, he was appointed a reserve officer and, in February of 1997, began full time and graduated from the Lowell Police Academy. Besides being assigned to patrol, he is also part of the drone unit in which he is a Federal Aviation Administration-certified drone pilot. Sergeant Dzioba has been a member of the ATV unit and the Honor Guard for the past 25 years
Over the course of his career, he was previously assigned to special operations, detectives, sexual assault unit and NEMLEC Regional Response team. With the NEMLEC Regional Response Team, Dzioba traveled to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inaugurations where he was part of the Presidential Protection Team twice for President George Bush and once for President Barack Obama.
Dzioba attended Methuen Public Schools and graduated from Methuen High School. He went on to Western New England University where he graduated with a master’s in Criminal Justice Administration. In 2013, he was awarded the Life Saving Award. He also received the Marathon Bombing Award in 2014 for assisting in the manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 19, 2013.
Licata joined the Methuen Police Department in 1988 as a Methuen Police Explorer. He transitioned to auxiliary officer in 1991 and then to reserve officer in 1993. He became a full-time patrolman in 1994 and has served as a patrol officer, field training officer, school resource officer and as a member of the Marine Patrol and Mountain Bike Units.
For the last seven years, he has served as the training coordinator and social media specialist for the department. He is a trained photographer and a member of the Methuen Police Honor Guard.
Licata attended Central Catholic High School and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a bachelor’s in Public Service—Criminal Justice—and Western New England University with a master’s in Criminal Justice Administration. He has completed the FBI LEEDA Public Information Officer and the Master Public Information Officer classes. He also completed the Massachusetts Police Training Council Instructor Certification course and is a certified instructor in Legal Issues and Firearms.
For the last 20 years, he has been an instructor for Northern Essex Community College, teaching various courses for the Criminal Justice program. Licata is also an instructor at the College’s Police Academy, teaching Criminal Law at the Recruit Academy along with Legal Update and other various courses at the Veteran Officer In-Service Academy.
Dzioba and Licata were among four officers recently promoted. Joseph L. Rynne Jr. was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and Matthew Mueskes was promoted from provisional sergeant to permanent sergeant.