Matthew Duryea got a job working part time in a restaurant kitchen his junior year at Penn State. He loved the work and went to culinary school after graduating from college with a degree in health care administration.
Duryea found working as a chef required attention to detail, organization and the ability to produce a product under a deadline. It required teamwork and a sense of responsibility to do the job properly. After working as a chef in the northeast he took a position in the Miami area where he met his wife who is a baker.
While cooking was still his passion, after 11 years he wanted a life change so he attended the Police Academy in Ocala and joined the Lady Lake Police Department in 2014. He found patrol work to be both exciting and a chance to really help some of the people he met while on his shift.
In 2018, Duryea was called to a residence on Third Avenue in Lady Lake. Upon arrival he found a man who was having a severe medical emergency, unresponsive and not breathing. Duryea cleared the man’s throat of blood and began CPR. Duryea was later honored for saving the man’s life.
Duryea later jumped at the chance to work as a detective with Butch Perdue, who is a legend in the Lady Lake Department. The veteran officer has been a well-respected detective in the area for a number of years and Duryea wanted to learn from the best.
Not long after he began working as a detective, Duryea was assigned a sexual battery case. He helped arrest Terry Zimmerman, a Water Oak resident who had more than 2,700 items of child pornography in his home. Duryea’s diligent work resulted in the indictment and conviction of Zimmerman on child pornography charges by the U.S. Department of Justice. An assistant U.S. attorney praised the detective’s contribution to the successful prosecution of the suspect. So did the trial judge.
As a result of his work on the Zimmerman case, Duryea became a task force officer with the Department of Homeland Security. In that role he aids other surrounding agencies with their investigations as well as working Lady Lake cases.
The Lady Lake Police Department has honored Duryea as the 2020 Officer of the Year. He earned this award through his dedication to the police department and the Lady Lake community.
Police Chief Rob Tempesta said Duryea ”routinely demonstrates a professional attitude and has a tenacity and work ethic nothing short of exemplary.” Duryea continues to work with Detective Perdue who has previously earned the Officer of the Year award.
Duryea will be recognized at the 40th Annual Law Enforcement Officer of the Year “Service Above Self” Luncheon presented by the Leesburg Rotary Club and also by the American Legion Post 347 at a future meeting.