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BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Englewood, New Jersey—Many youngsters admire the courage and rigorous training of police officers. This month, 36 Englewood boys and girls aged 11–16 had the opportunity to experience those qualities, as they got up close and personal with Englewood’s finest.
The kids, from grades five to 10, were junior cadets in Englewood Police Department’s Junior Police Academy (JPA), an outstanding program that the city’s police department has held every summer for the past 16 years, free to local families.
Beginning on July 9, the JPA took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Throughout the week, 15 Englewood police lieutenants, sergeants, and patrol officers worked with the recruits, providing expertise and encouragement.
Simulating police department format, the recruits had a commanding officer, an executive officer, and squad leaders (four of them).
According to Detective Lt. Tom Greeley, officer in charge of EPD’s Youth Services Unit, the JPA aims to educate young people about physical fitness and key aspects of public service, including law enforcement and emergency services.
He said the program also teaches invaluable life lessons: self-respect, respect of others, discipline, commitment to one’s goals, leadership, and teamwork.
Recruits were taught to adhere to the EPD’s motto, “Honor, Dedication, Fidelity.”
The program is advertised on social media, on the City of Englewood’s website, and on flyers distributed to Englewood schools, churches, and temples.
Each JPA recruit was issued a blue T-shirt, navy shorts, a cap, and backpack, all sporting the Englewood Junior Police Academy emblem.
Funding comes from the Englewood Municipal Alliance, the police department, and—this year—a generous donation from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
It is particularly admirable that a number of the officers used their days off to accompany the recruits on field trips.
Based at Dr. Leroy McCloud Elementary School, the recruits kicked off each day with an hour of rigorous exercise: running, pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and squats included.
Greeley explained the JPA is designed to be mentally and physically challenging. It simulates the training that EPD officers have.
Police officers, many of whom provided one-on-one instruction, supervised all activities, lending encouragement and a firm voice that definitely earns respect.
The 11 teenage girl recruits held their own with the boys. On the second day of training, Elise Harrison, 16, a sophomore at Dwight Morrow High School who served as this year’s JPA commanding officer, showed her mettle by executing multiple pushups in perfect form.
Between sets, she said, “They make the recruits work hard, but it’s a lot of fun!”
Other instructors were Detective Michael Chapman, Detective Stacy Cook, Officer Byron Aguayo, Officer Jaime Gillert, Officer Jerel Hammond, Officer Reynaldo Rose, Officer Ximena Sarria, Officer Jason Mejia, Officer Juan Moreno, Officer Julio Alvarado, Officer Dylan Donegan, Officer Al Tucker, Officer Jordan Migliore, and Officer Andrew Chytrak.
Recruits visited the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute in Mahwah, where they saw presentations by the Bergen County Fire Chief, the K-9 Unit, and the Bomb Squad, and they toured the firing range.
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On Wednesday, the group was bussed to MetLife Stadium, where they visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Two sergeants of the New Jersey State Police explained how the NJSP keeps more than 80,000 spectators safe at various events.
There, recruit Andres Aguayo exclaimed, “The Giants’ Super Bowl trophies are awesome!”
They walked through the players’ locker room and ate lunch in the press box.
Thursday provided another exciting experience, this time at the Pole Position Raceway Jersey City, where the recruits, wearing helmets, sped around the course in electric co-karts.
Friday brought the recruits to Tryon Avenue Pool, where they met with members of the Bergen County Regional Water Search and Rescue Scuba Task Force, a division of the recently integrated Bergen County USAR Team.
The group watched Oradell firefighters Derek Kahill and Kevin Trass demonstrate equipment and techniques that the team uses to locate, rescue, and recover bodies—sometimes trapped in cars—from the cold murky waters of the Hackensack and Passaic rivers.
Kahill wore a dry suit with a full face mask that was wired for underwater communications, a buoyancy compensator with weights integrated into the pack, and he carried both 80- and 30-cubic-foot scuba tanks on his back. He was tethered on a thick line, which was guided by a tender who stood beside the pool and signaled him with a series of tugs.
Several recruits were eager to don the headphones and speak to the submerged Kahill.
They saw how rescue divers toss a thick 75-foot rescue rope into the water. The recruits who tried to toss the ropes themselves realized that it was no easy task.
When the PDA group departed the pool, they did so with great respect for the arduous and strategic work of this intrepid underwater team.
By July 13–the final day of the JPA —the recruits had been given a treasure trove of law enforcement knowledge and safety skills and upped their fitness level.
The program concluded on Saturday with a graduation ceremony at the school, attended by more than 100 family members.
Accompanied by the department’s ceremonial Honor Guard, and with the sound of bagpipes filling the room, the graduates marched into the gym before their friends and families.
Each was presented with his/her certificate by Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern and congratulatory handshakes from Suffern and Greeley.
Asked what they thought of the program, the unanimous response was, “It was great!” Some graduates told Northern Valley Press they look forward to returning as assistants next year—and a few said that they are considering a career in law enforcement.
Watching his grandson receive his certificate, Byron Aguayo, the grandfather of Andres Aguayo and a former Navy officer in Ecuador—and the father of P.O. Aguayo—said, “This program is essential! It teaches kids to be responsible, to help others and to be leaders. These young people are ambassadors for the future of this city and for the future of the country.”
Photos by Hillary Viders
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