By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
LAWRENCE — Three newly-minted police officers — two of whom are Lawrence High School graduates — were sworn into office at the Township Council meeting on May 3.
The three police officers graduated from the Mercer County Police Academy last month. One is a former dispatcher for the Lawrence Township Police Department.
All three police officers — Piotr Bystrek, Shane Hickey and Richard Lamont — thanked their families, township officials and Chief of Police Mark Ubry and the Lawrence Township Police Department for helping them attain their goals.
Officer Bystrek grew up in Poland and moved to Lawrence Township with his family in 2003, Chief Ubry said. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 2008, and earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Mercer County Community College.
“I should mention that Piotr’s father, Ziggy, was a police officer in Poland,” Chief Ubry said.
Chief Ubry also pointed out that Officer Bystrek and his brother, David Bystrek, were honored by Township Council last year for helping a police officer who was struggling to arrest a violent suspect.
Officer Hickey grew up in Lawrence Township, and attended St. Ann’s School through sixth grade. He switched to the Lawrence Township public schools. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 2011, where he was the captain of the football and lacrosse teams in his senior year.
Officer Hickey attended Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2015. Chief Ubry noted that he had been offered a job as a police officer in Lawrence, but chose to finish college first.
“What this means is, he would have been Badge No. 228, rather than Badge No. 240. He gave up quite a bit of seniority to complete college,” Chief Ubry said.
In his remarks, Officer Hickey said the Police Academy “can be pretty hard.” But without his family’s support, he said, “I would not be standing here today. I look forward to being a police officer in the town I grew up in.”
Officer Lamont is a former dispatcher for the Police Department, Chief Ubry said. He spent his early years in Trenton and then moved to Hamilton Township when he was 13. He graduated from Steinert High School in 2004, where he played football and basketball.
Officer Lamont graduated from Rider University in 2008, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in law and justice, Chief Ubry said. He became a Police Department dispatcher in 2009, and stayed on after Lawrence Township hired iXP Corp. to take over police dispatching duties.
“I am looking forward (to a career as a police officer),” Officer Lamont said. Police officers are like family because they take care of each other, he said, adding that his fellow officers were always there for him and encouraged him.
