Home » Mercer County Police Academy Graduates 17th Class of Police Officers

Mercer County Police Academy Graduates 17th Class of Police Officers

by MercerMe Staff

Mercer County dignitaries and law enforcement officials from around the County gathered Sept. 28, 2017, to celebrate the graduation of the 17th basic class of police officers from the Mercer Police Academy.

An audience of several hundred family members, friends, and members of a number of law enforcement agencies saw the class of 68 cadets receive graduation certificates to officially make them police officers.

The commencement was held inside the gymnasium at Mercer County Community College (MCCC). Many cadets wore the uniforms of the respective law enforcement agency each will join; two cadets were Alternate Route trainees who attended the academy at their own expense and now can pursue employment as certified police officers.

The graduates endured 21 weeks of training at the academy in all aspects of law enforcement and will now serve in many different Police Departments within Mercer County and elsewhere (see complete list below). The cadets are the 17th police class of the Academy, which was created in October 2006 and provides a facility and resources to train law enforcement recruits in Mercer County. The academy is located on the grounds of MCCC.

Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler wished the graduates good luck and the blessing that they return home safely to their families each night. “In return, the community will ask for your continued courage and commitment, and to remain steady in your role – despite any obstacles or threats placed in front of you,” he said.

Brian Morgenstern, a Montclair resident who will join the New Jersey Transit Police Department, was chosen by his fellow graduates as class speaker. He said that while cadets may have different reasons for pursuing a career in law enforcement, there remains a common thread. “For some of us it’s the pension system; for others it’s family tradition,” he said. “It’s most definitely not for the lavish pay. But there’s only one reason that’s shared by all police, and that is, we want to help.”

He later reminded his fellow graduates of what they have achieved. “It’s all up to you now,” he said. “I no longer want to be a cop – I am a cop. We are cops. We are police. We are Class 17-17.”

Also addressing the class were Agent Matt Kemp, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office; Police Academy Director Martin P. Masseroni; Prosecutor Angelo Onofri; and Hopewell Township Police Chief Lance Maloney, president of the Mercer County Chiefs of Police Association. Also in attendance were Freeholders Ann Cannon, John Cimino and Pasquale Colavita; and Dr. Mark Harris, Vice President for Finance and Administration at MCCC.

Brian Morgenstern, who was chosen by his fellow graduates as class speaker, delivers remarks during the Sept. 28 Police Academy graduation exercises.

During training, the class studied in disciplines such as use of force, firearms, vehicle pursuit, hostage negotiation, advanced crime scene processing, and domestic violence prevention, among others. Several cadets received awards at the graduation ceremony for their excellence in training. Casey Annuzzi, who is joining the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, was chosen by his classmates to receive the Certificate of Merit awarded by the N.J. Police Training Commission to the best all-around graduate. Jonathan Erd, New Jersey Transit Police Department, received the academic award; Kevin O’Brien, New Transit Police Department, and Preetkaran Singh Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, shared the firearms qualification award with perfect scores; Michael Cruse, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, received the physical training award; and Ryan Hensperger, Alternate Route, received the emergency vehicle operations award.

The Mercer Police Academy consists of two classrooms specially designed for the needs of law enforcement training, and recruits use MCCC grounds, its library and its gymnasium for training purposes. The campus includes a padded training room that is used for “defensive tactics” classes. A shooting range in Hopewell Township operated by the prosecutor’s office is part of the academy as well.

The following is a list of the graduates, their hometowns, and the law enforcement agency each will join:

Joseph Alpaugh of Parlin, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Steven Ambrosino of Howell, Freehold Borough Police Department; Casey Annuzzi of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Roman Babyak of Hamilton, Hamilton Township Police Department; Daniel Bannister of Ewing, Ewing Township Police Department; Marek Bloch of Hamilton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Kenneth Brown of Colonia, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Michael Cruse of Ewing, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; John Cruz of Milltown, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Carlos De Leon of Trenton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Andrew D’Uva of East Brunswick, NJ Transit Police Department; Jonathan Erd of Marlboro, NJ Transit Police Department; Matthew Folis of Hamilton, Ewing Township Police Department; Timothy Geoghegan of Toms River, NJ Transit Police Department; Brian Gorka of Franklin, Alternate Route; Timothy Griffin of Livingston, NJ Transit Police Department; Michael Hamersma of Tenafly, NJ Transit Police Department; Ryan Hensperger of East Brunswick, Alternate Route; Neil Hunt of Pennington, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Thomas Illes of Flemington, Hunterdon County Sheriff’s Office; Michael Kminek of East Windsor, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Margaret Kolta of Old Bridge, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Adam Konopka of Kearny, NJ Transit Police Department; Petra Krajnak of New Brunswick, NJ Transit Police Department; Alexander Maillard of Manville, NJ Transit Police Department; Michael Manfredi of Hamilton, Ewing Township Police Department; Lee Markowitz of Wayne, NJ Transit Police Department; Blake Martindale of Cape May Court House, Middle Township Police Department; Hector Martinez of New Brunswick, NJ Transit Police Department; Donald Marulanda of Dover, NJ Transit Police Department; Michael Mazzulla of Edison, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Russell McPherson of West Orange, NJ Transit Police Department; Nicholas Meletta of Sparta, NJ Transit Police Department; Dennis Mesday of Mercerville, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Jason Miller of Hamilton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Brian Morgenstern of Montclair, NJ Transit Police Department; Christopher Norek of South Amboy, South Amboy Police Department; Kevin O’Brien of Asbury Park, NJ Transit Police Department; David Patrick of Piscataway, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Daniel Philippe of Spring Valley, NY, NJ Transit Police Department; Robert Pierce of Woodbridge, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Kingsley Prempeh of Newark, NJ Transit Police Department; Justin Quinlan of Hamilton, Ewing Township Police Department; Eric Raps of Toms River, NJ Transit Police Department; Bryan Richards of Tewksbury, NJ Transit Police Department; Albert Rodriguez of Middletown, NJ Transit Police Department; John Roesler of Woodbridge, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Kelsey Russell of Howell, NJ Transit Police Department; Preetkaran Singh of Iselin, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Jason Snyder of Flemington, Hunterdon County Sheriff’s Office; Ivan Solares, of New Brunswick, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Adam Somers of Cinnaminson, Cinnaminson Police Department; Gregory Spath of Fords, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Olalekan Sumonu of Burlington Township, NJ Transit Police Department; Lorenzo Swain of Ewing, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Frank Tamargo of Moonachie, NJ Transit Police Department; Allan Taveras of Perth Amboy, Perth Amboy Police Department; Andrew Taylor of Jackson, NJ Transit Police Department; Harrison Tejada of New Brunswick, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Daniel Tesauro of Hamilton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Dakota Tipton of Old Bridge, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; James Torstrup of Woodbridge, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Tyler Trumbetti of Burlington, Rutgers-Camden Police Department; Joesph Walck of Colonia, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office; Laquinta Webster of Hamilton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; Christopher Wilcox of White Township, Warren County Sheriff’s Office; Robert Wood of Turnersville, NJ Transit Police Department; and Tiziana Zappley of Hamilton, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.

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