Two new officers have joined the ranks of the Metuchen Police Department, bringing the department to a 28-member force.
Michael Puetz and Daniel Hoover were sworn in at a Borough Council meeting on December 21 in front of their families, friends, members of the department, and
Police Chief David Irizarry welcomed the two officers and thanked Mayor Thomas Vahalla and members of the council for their support in hiring more officers.
“We have two outstanding candidates,” the department after serving a year and a half with the Middlesex County College Police Department.
Irizarry said, while with the college police, Puetz became a firearms instructor, which he said will benefit the department greatly.
Prior to serving with the college, Puetz served six years in the United States Army earning numerous medals and decorations.
Hoover comes to the department after serving as a dispatcher with Brunswick Police Department. He is currently enrolled in the Cape May Police Academy through the alternate route program and is set to graduate Jan. 13.
Hoover is a graduate of St. Joseph High School and a graduate of Norwich University, the Military College of Vermont.
Vahalla welcomed the two new officers and noted that they survived a tough interview process.