James Richmond FREEHOLD- James Richmond is one of the lucky ones. He is living his dream.
Richmond, 28, a native of Freehold Borough, is doing exactly what he has always wanted to do – patrol the streets of his hometown as a cop.
Richmond was sworn in as amember of the Freehold Borough Police Department at the Jan. 22 meeting of the Borough Council. His wife and children were at his side as he took the oath of office as a police officer.
Born to Eugene and Ruth Richmond, the officer said his father, now deceased, was his role model. Richmond said his father was a career military man, serving 20 years as an air police officer in the U.S.Air Force.
Couple that family history with all the stories Richmond said he heard living in a small town, and watching television shows like “COPS” and “America’s Most Wanted,” along with reruns of “Starsky and Hutch,” and Richmond knew what his career would be by the time he was a teenager.
The borough’s newest police officer graduated from St. Rose of Lima School and Freehold High School, both in the borough. He attended Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, where he studied criminal justice. He graduated from the Monmouth County Police Academy, Freehold Township, in December 2007.
Prior to joining the police department
Richmond worked in landscaping,
as a dispatcher for the Freehold Fire Department,
with the borough’s streets
and roads department
and as a Freehold Borough
code enforcement
officer.
Richmond is also a firefighter
and holds the position of second lieutenant in the Richardson Engine Company No. 2 in the Freehold Fire Department.
Richmond said his wife supports his decision to become a police officer. He said he chose to be a law enforcement officer in Freehold Borough because it is his town.
“I know every square inch of town, including the people who live here, and I want to make sure it’s taken care of,” he said. Richmond’s first day on the job as an officer was Dec. 14. His training period consists of about 12 weeks working under the guidance and mentorship of two Freehold Borough police field training Officers, Patrolman Darnell Esdaile and Patrolman Chris Otlowski.
According to Sgt. Michael Sweetman, the supervisor of the field training program, Richmond will be working on his own after the 12-week training period unless further training is necessary.
Sweetman said Richmond is “ahead of the curve” in his training.
“I find himto be enthusiastic, energetic, as well as open to correction and criticism,” the sergeant said. “Learning to become a police officer involves something as simple as learning the correct way to wear a uniform to things as complex as holding down a murder scene or performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on someone, and everything in between.”
And Sweetman, who has been on the force for 14 years, said the learning never ends because the job keeps evolving.
“You need to be a problem solver, a free thinker,” Sweetman said. “People call us for so many different things, not just for crimes. Fifty percent of the job is locking people up, the other 50 percent is helping people to solve problems. Communication is used much more today than the gun.”
Police Chief Mitchell Roth said Richmond is a “wonderful addition” to the force.
“I think Officer Richmond will bring immediate experience to his position,more so than past hires due to his previous employment by the code enforcement office. He’s learned the streets and he has interacted with the residents of Freehold Borough, and the men and women of the Freehold Borough Police Department, and he is already familiar with some of the nuances of the career he’s chosen,” the chief said. Mayor Michael Wilson, who congratulated Richmond upon the officer’s swearing in, stilled the council chambers when he said Richmond’s father, who themayor said was a personal friend for many years, “is looking down at you and is very proud of you.”