Council gives kudos for exceptional service to township police officers.
By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Their job description is to serve and protect Lawrence Township, but Tuesday night, Lawrence Township police officers were the ones being served with thanks from the community.
Eight of Lawrence’s finest were honored by Township Council in an annual ceremony that pays tribute to police officers who have performed beyond the call of duty. All were presented with a resolution signed by Township Council.
Patrolmen Sean Kerins, Kelly Longo, Christopher DiMeglio, Robert Wagner and Joseph Radlinsky and Detectives James Vardenega and Christopher Longo were honored by Township Council. They each received the Police Department’s Commendable Service Award.
An eighth police officer Lt. Mark Ubry received the Chief’s Achievement Award. The chief of police alone selects the award recipient.
Lawrence police officers are honored every year in connection with National Police Week, this yearslated from May 14 to May 22. The police officers are nominated by their peers and the winners are chosen by a committee.
This year, the committee comprised Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny, Deputy Chief of Police Joseph Prettyman, Capt. Mark Boyd, Lt. Charles B. Edgar, Lt. Mark Ubry and Patrolmen Matthew Grossi and Edwin Podbielski.
Patrolmen Kerins and Longo were honored for their role in confiscating marijuana and a loaded .22-caliber handgun from two men after the officers observed one of the men tampering with a fence at the rear of the Halo Farms store on Spruce Street on Nov. 4, 2005.
The two police officers were working in plain clothes in response to several robberies that had occurred in the southern part of the township when they observed the men in an isolated area near the store, according to a resolution presented to them by Township Council.
When Patrolmen Kerins and Longo conducted an investigation, they found the men had marijuana on their persons and a loaded gun in their car, the resolution said. The officers arrested the men and charged them with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Mayor Michael Powers praised the police officers and said that while most people associate guns and drugs with the cities, this is evidence that there are guns in the suburbs, as well. The two police officers took another gun off the street, he added.
Also honored was Patrolman DiMeglio, who was recognized for arresting 20 motorists and charging them with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs between April 1, 2005 and March 31, according to the Township Council resolution.
Drunken drivers were responsible for 270 deaths in New Jersey last year, the resolution said, adding that Patrolman DiMeglio’s actions removed dangerous drivers from township streets, preventing the possibility of numerous accidents.
Patrolmen Wagner and Radlinsky were honored for their role in coaxing a man from jumping out of a fourth-floor room at the McIntosh Inn on Brunswick Pike April 30, 2005.
When the two officers arrived, they saw the man sitting on the window sill with one leg inside the room and one leg outside the room, according to the resolution. The officers asked him if they could come up to his room and talk to him, but he refused.
Patrolmen Wagner and Radlinsky kept talking to him and eventually he allowed Patrolman Wagner to come up to his room, while Patrolman Radlinsky maintained conversation with him.
Once inside the room, Patrolman Wagner convinced the man to move away from the window and then escorted the man downstairs to medical personnel, who were waiting outside for him.
Detectives Vardenega and Longo were recognized for their role in seizing 100 packs of heroin and crack cocaine, a loaded .38-caliber handgun and $3,300 in cash while they were investigating a missing-person report Feb. 21.
During the investigation, Detective Vardenega developed leads that indicated the missing woman was addicted to drugs and may have been in the company of drug dealers in Trenton, according to the resolution.
When the detectives checked the woman’s O’Neill Court residence Feb. 22, they saw her car parked in front of the residence. They knocked on the door, but the woman who answered the door said the missing woman was not there, according to the resolution.
Detectives Vardenega and Longo were not comfortable and insisted on checking the residence and that’s when they found the missing woman in a second-floor bedroom, along with two men and another woman.
The detectives arrested the several people who were in the house and charged them with possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute and unlawful possession of a weapon. They also seized the cash, the resolution said.
Lt. Ubry received the Chief’s Achievement Award, which is given to a police officer who shows consistency in his duties over time and who puts the Police Department’s good at the forefront, the chief said.
Lt. Ubry has been in charge of the Investigation Division since May 2004, and earlier this year, he was placed in charge of the Records Unit as well, Chief Posluszny said. The Investigation Division includes the Detective Bureau, the juvenile officer and the school resource officers.

