Major Affanato was born and raised in upstate New York. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from Niagara University in 1981.  In April 1984, he began his career with the Hollywood Police Department as a Patrol Officer.  In 1988, he served as a Detective in the Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics Unit until his promotion to Sergeant in September 1996.  As a Sergeant, he served in the Uniformed Patrol Section as well as the Training and Professional Development Unit.  During this time he held supervisory assignments on the Department’s Dive Team, Field Force Team, Emergency Management Team and S.W.A.T. Team.

In November 2000, he was promoted to Lieutenant and has held assignments in the Uniformed Patrol Section, Criminal Investigations Division, Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics Unit, and most recently in the Public Safety Communications Section.  Major Affanato was instrumental in establishing the City’s Inter-Departmental Emergency Management Team in January 2005.  He has been the recipient of numerous internal and external awards, including Officer of the Month, the Unit Citation Award, and the American Society of Industrial Safety’s Officer of the Month Award.

In October of 2005 he was promoted to the rank of Captain and in August of 2008 he was promoted to the rank of Major; he currently commands the Communications Division and the Police Department's Information Technology Unit and maintains the City's emergency preparedness as the Major of the City of Hollywood Emergency Operations Center.

Major Affanato is a graduate of the 157th Session of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command, where he was selected as class Vice President by his peers.  Currently, he is pursuing his Master of Science Degree at Lynn University in Emergency Planning and Administration.

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