People slowly filed into the room, walking past a small group of uniformed police along the way to their seats, arranged in neat, ordered rows. Most came alone, but some arrived in pairs. As the clock in the front ticked forward, the low murmur that settles over any group of people waiting for something to happen hung comfortably in the air.
SCOTT FRIEDMAN Jackie Bobnar, of Linden, checks out some Christmas goodies at the annual Fall Fair at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison on Saturday. Around 7:30 p.m., Police Director Brian Collier moved to a small podium at the front of the room and welcomed the nearly 30 people present to the first night of the Edison Civilian Police Academy, held at the Edison Municipal Building.
The Civilian Police Academy, which began this year on Oct. 15, is a series of classes held by the police department designed to build community relations by informing residents about the nature of police work in general and the Edison Police Department in particular. Each class will focus on a different part of the police department. Sgt. Robert Dudash, who facilitated most of the class that night, said that this can aid people who might be interested in police work in the future, or who run neighborhood watches, or who are interested in volunteering with the auxiliary police. Dudash said the department hasn’t held a civilian academy in a few years, but the police brought it back because they felt it was needed to build better bonds with the community.
The opening class was attended by a wide variety of people, both young and old, men and women. The reasons voiced as to what got them interested in coming to the class were as diverse as the people themselves. Some just wanted to learn more about how their community works.
“I’ve been a crossing guard in the township for 16 years, and I want to see what the police department is all about,” said John Matts.
One person said that attending could help him with his studies in college.
“I’m going to Middlesex [County College] for criminal justice, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn more about it,” said Brandt Shine.
Another attendee, Florence Twaddle, has aspirations to be a police officer herself and felt that coming to the classes could help her prepare.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to become a police officer or serve in the military. I just never had the chance or opportunity to do so,” said Twaddle. “The Edison Police Department, they really help the community out a lot. I live in North Edison and the community over there … there’s a lot of crime over there, and when we need help from the Edison police, they’re always there, so that’s what inspires me, because they’re great officers in everything they do.”
Collier, during his welcoming speech, talked about the motivations behind police work.
“Law enforcement is about altruism— selfless service to others,” said Collier, who then said he was encouraged to see so many people interested in the police.
Deputy Chief Thomas Bryan followed and noted that the police can only do their jobs with the help of residents who let them know what’s going on.
After a brief break, Capt. John Mozagai spoke to the audience about what life is like being a cop, including the downside.
He said that occasionally police do get into physical confrontations and firefights, and that these incidents are nothing like they are on TV. He also said that car crashes kill many police officers each year. But even more impacting than the physical hazards that come with being a cop, he said, is the stress.
“The unseen things are the stress an officer goes through on the job. … What kills police officers in the long run is stress,” said Mozagai.
He reiterated that TV cops are not indicative of the realities of the job.
“It’s not like on TV. You see nothing but pain and suffering. A few things make us smile … but most of the time we’re the ones there when things are wrong,” said Mozagai.
Still, he said that having the support of the community made a great difference in assisting police work, pointing out the efforts of organizations like the police auxiliary and the junior police explorers, who use their knowledge of the areas they live in to help authorities.
“No one knows your neighborhood better than you,” said Mozagai.
Next to speak to the assembled audience was Dudash, specifically to talk about the patrol division, which makes up 119 of the 188 total cops in Edison, forming the backbone of the department.
“On Christmas morning, when you’re opening up your presents, there’s probably a police car driving down the road,” said Dudash.
Dudash talked about the different types of patrol: foot (rare, given the size of Edison), motorized (the most common), and the more esoteric forms such as air and boat (both very rare, since the township must rely on the state or county for the resources to do these). He also talked about the benefits of the bike patrol, made up of a threeman unit, noting that they can cover a wide area while emphasizing stealth, able to move through neighborhoods mostly undetected.
Officers on patrol, Dudash said, carry a wide variety of equipment. Besides the standard sidearm (an HK 40-caliber) and baton (PR-24), they also go out with pepper spray, a ballistic vest, extra ammunition, radio, cameras, latex gloves, and, in their cars, a defibrillator, computer and first aid kit.
The sergeant also talked about the mental preparation a patrol officer must go through before going out on patrol. Everyone does it in different ways, he said, but everyone must leave their problems at the door and clear their head.
“Because it could be routine or it could get ugly in a hurry,” said Dudash.
After a long day on patrol, which can last up to 10 hours, with shifts being in the morning, evening or midnight, officers then inspect their vehicles and debrief. The next morning, they get up and do it again.
The class concluded with a short list of the programs that patrol runs, such as DUI check points, and a bike tour of Edison and Metuchen.
The academy will resume on Oct. 22 with further discussion of the police department.