The youngest of six children, Jason D. Conklin was born on October 29,1974. He grew up on Ludlam Road in Monroe, NY. He loved the outdoors and spent most of his time there playing with his brothers and sisters and neighborhood kids.
Jason loved sports. He played Monroe-Woodbury Little league for 7 years on a team his dad coached. He played Pop Warner Football for 4 years and also was an avid skier. He was an asset to the Monroe-Woodbury High School Ski Team becoming the MVP, and later became a ski instructor at Sterling Forest Ski Center.
After graduating high school, Jason attended Rockland County Community College to pursue an associates degree in Criminal Justice. He worked two jobs and attended college. As time went by, his goal to become a Police Officer was getting stronger. He acquired a job with IBM Security and was happy that he was one step closer to reaching his goal.
Jason decided that if he put himself through the Police Academy, he would have more of an opportunity to become a Police Officer so he went out job hunting. He applied to several different police departments hoping they would sponsor him to the academy, but to no avail. He was frustrated - he realized how hard it was to become a police officer but he never gave up. Then he applied at the Village of Tuxedo Park Police Department and spoke with Chief Bill Bortnowsky. When he came home he thought he had a chance - he was very impressed by the professionalism in that department and really wanted to work there. He was told that to be a police officer in Tuxedo Park, he had to be courteous, polite and professional, a public relations type of person. That was what he was looking for. He wanted to patrol the village and help people, be there for someone who needed help, and just talk to people while on patrol. Some people become Police Officers for the wrong reasons, for the status and authority - but this was not like Jason. He really wanted to help people and try to make a difference.
One day he received a phone call from Chief Bortnnowsky stating that he and Sergeant Vaught had talked and completed a background check on him and they decided to hire him as a dispatcher and sponsor him to the Police Academy. Jason was excited because all of his hard work and motivation paid off. He told all of his family and friends, and he was so proud.
While attending the Police Academy, Jason was still working two jobs. He attended the academy during the day and worked a double shift at IBM or one shift at IBM and one at Tuxedo Park. This always kept him busy.
Jason loved the Police Academy. The more the drill instructors hollered at the recruits and made them do push ups or run laps, the more Jason liked it. His uniform was always pressed, boots and leather polished to a mirror shine. He was proud. Fellow students in his class remember Jason as being “Gung-Ho”. A former student and friend, Mike Sanford (Tuxedo PD) recalls when he and Jason carpooled to the academy - "Jason always got there an hour before so he could touch up his boots or study his notes." Another student and friend, Ed Dolan (Suffern PD) recalls that "When the class would just finish running two miles and doing 50 push ups, Jason wanted to do more." Jason graduated from the Rockland County Police Academy on June 18, 1997.
On his first day as a Police Officer in Tuxedo Park, he was excited. Patrick Welsh, another friend and co-worker, was one of his training officers. Jason was very happy to be working with Pat. He liked and respected him. During his short career, Jason had stopped some cars for traffic infractions but he never wrote a ticket. He was very polite and courteous to people and gave them a warning, explaining their infraction. He hoped he could change their bad driving habits by being nice. He never boasted about being a Police Officer but he was honored to be one.
Jason always wore a seat belt, in his personal vehicle as well as on duty. He would not let you ride in his car unless you wore one. The day of his accident, it could have only been fate. He did what he normally did while on duty. He spotted a speeding violator and he pursued him - he was performing a duty to the Village of Tuxedo Park. God obviously needed him to perform other duties but at least not before reaching his goal.
The day of his funeral Jason would have been so proud. It was all that he loved and strived to be. Hundreds of Police Officers including Mounted Police, K-9 Units, Helicopters, Color guards, Correction Officers, Firemen, Ambulance personnel, friends and family came from everywhere, flooding the streets of Monroe to give Jason a great farewell. The professionalism at the funeral was what Jason thrived on and he had the best view of it all. He was a son, brother, uncle, nephew, friend, boyfriend, and fellow Police Officer. He was loved and will be missed by all.
God bless him and let him rest in peace.