COURT HOUSE — There are 29 new police officers in New Jersey. They took their oaths of office from Leonard Desiderio, Cape May County freeholder vice director at Middle Township Performing Arts Center Jan. 23.
Desiderio and Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner addressed the recruits just prior to them taking their oath and receiving badges, some from family members who are also in law enforcement.
The training of the Basic Course for Police Officer began Aug. 27, a far warmer day than the one on which they graduated, when the high temperature was about 23 degrees.
The class consisted of officers from 12 departments.
The class final academic average was 92.55 percent. The class final firearm average was 92.9 percent.
The class started with an overall fitness rating of 66.4 percent and finished at 86.6 percent.
The class president is Recruit Daniel Benbrook of the Middletown Township Police Department, who was elected by members of the class. At 47 years of age, Benbrook had been a police officer, was injured, and, rather than retire, elected to retrain at the academy. He joked he was New Jersey’s oldest police recruit. Benbrook thanked his wife and children for being supportive of his 22 weeks of training.
The class motto was, “Failure to Train is Training to Fail.”
Individual Awards were:
High Academic Award:
Officer Timothy Richvalsky, Atlantic City Police Department, 97.48 percent
Vehicle Operations Award:
Officer Michael Garofalo, Atlantic City Police Department, 25.6 Seconds
Physical Fitness Award:
Officer Michael Garofalo, Atlantic City Police Department, 99.6 percent
Firearms Award:
Officer Thomas Hughes, Middletown Township Police Department,100 percent
Directors Award – Overall Class Ranking No. One:
Officer Michael Garofalo, Atlantic City Police department
Police Training Commission Merit Award: to be announced at ceremony.
Class members include:
Lower Township: John T. Armbruster Jr., Stephen Flitcroft, James P. McNulty.
Middle Township: Brian P. Murphy, Justin T. Viola.
Cape May: Scott H. Krissinger Jr.
West Wildwood: John C. Baukus III
Wildwood: Matthew B. Donnelly
Ocean City: David B. Ringkamp
Atlantic City: James P. Eckert, Michael J. Garofalo, Mohammed A. Kaiser, Ermindo J. Marsini, Brian G. McDevitt, John R. Pyle Jr., Timothy C. Richvalsky, Fitzroy E. Simpson
Millville: David D. Andrews, Joseph S. Dixon, Michael D. McLaughlin Jr.
Mount Laurel Township: Johnathan H. White
Hazlet Township: Josen T. Fabian, Edward M. Schmidt
Middletown Townshsip: Daniel E. Benbrook, Ricardo Cruz, Scott M. Davis, Thomas J. Hughes, Andrew D. Siciliano, Kent A. Thornton.
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