Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan, left, and Deputy Chief Mark Anderko, right, flank the township’s seven newly hired officers at their April 21 swearing-in ceremony at Town Hall. PHOTO COURTESY OF EDISON POLICE DEPARTMENT EDISON — The recent hiring of seven new police officers brings the township Police Department’s complement of sworn officers to 177.
“Safeguarding our community is among my highest priorities,” Mayor Thomas Lankey said. “Rebuilding our Police Department’s ranks with qualified, dedicated men and women is the most effective way to accomplish that goal.”
Taking oaths as police officers on April 21 were recruits John Douvas, Alan Esposito, Nicole Errico, Michael Gallant, Michael Goldfarb, Kevin McGotty and Michael Winters.
Four of the new hires — Errico, Esposito, Goldfarb and Winter — have served as Edison Police Auxiliary officers. Errico and Goldfarb have worked as police dispatchers, and Goldfarb is a Middlesex County sheriff’s officer.
“I’m proud to see our Police Department moving forward,” Police Chief Thomas Bryan said. “Adding 22 new officers over the past five months will enable our department to provide a more visible presence on the street and greater service to our residents.”
The other six recruits are not certified by the New Jersey Police Training Commission. They will begin a 24-week basic police-training course on May 11 at the Essex County Police Academy in Cedar Grove.
Upon graduation, those officers will receive two weeks of in-house training in departmental procedures before they begin 20 weeks of supervised on-duty patrol with a field-training officer.
In December, Edison hired 15 officers who were already police academy graduates, most of whom were working as police officers elsewhere. The mayor said his goal is to increase the department’s complement of officers to 185 in the near future.
In 2003, the Police Department had 215 sworn officers, the highest number in its history. Through attrition, that number dipped to 157 last year, its lowest level since 1992.
All 22 officers hired under the Lankey administration are from a pool of 430 Police Department applicants from 2014. They were screened under a new hiring process that included written, oral and physical agility tests.