SOUTH AMBOY — The city’s Police Department was center stage at the Aug. 20 City Council meeting.
Police Chief Darren Lavigne announced two retirements, two promotions and the addition of four new patrolmen.
Lavigne first acknowledged the contributions that Sgts. Jamie Norek and Glen Malkiewicz have made to the city.
“I’m sorry to see both of them go,” he said.
That was followed by Mayor Fred Henry’s induction of the new officers: Robert Besner Jr., An Wang, Alexander Miranda and Dane O’Grady.
The city’s four new officers are in training at the Monmouth County Police Academy through December.
“Our officers are in the process of training,” Lavigne said. “They won’t be hitting the streets until late December, early January.”
Lavigne said he was excited about the additions. He said each brings a “unique set of skills and talents” to benefit the force.
He then turned to the two officers receiving promotions to sergeant: Daniel Holovacko and Jacob Murray.
Lavigne said he first met Holovacko when Holovacko was a student at the city’s St. Mary’s Elementary, where Lavigne was a DARE officer.
“When he came on board, I was extremely pleased that one of my former students came on board to the Police Department,” Lavigne said, adding, “He’s a tremendously talented young man.”
Holovacko has also served in the Middlesex County College Police Department, where he also rose to rank of sergeant.
As for Murray, Lavigne pointed to his technical skills as being integral to the Police
Department.
He said Murray was able to obtain funding from the county prosecutor’s office for automated license-plate readers, which are used to identify stolen vehicles, and was instrumental in the department’s implementation of an upgraded evidence inventory system.
“Very technical stuff,” Lavigne said. “Jake’s the guy. He takes care of a lot of those initiatives for me.”
Lavigne said Murray had been a military police officer in the Marines as well as an officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In that latter role, he also attained sergeant status.
He pointed out that Murray had been one of the officers the department had to lay off in 2009.
“Jake decided to wait out the storm and come back and serve this city well, which he has done,” Lavigne said.