WESTWOOD, N.J.—The Westwood Police Department, Police Chief Michael R. Pontillo, and the mayor and council welcomed the borough’s newest police officer to the department’s ranks at a ceremony at the Municipal Complex on April 16.
Police Officer Stephanie Hallihan, hired April 2, was sworn in at the regular meeting of the governing body.
In a post on the department’s social outlets, Pontillo said Hallihan has started her field training.
He added she grew up in Paramus, was a soccer player at Paramus High School, attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Midtown Manhattan, and will complete college this spring with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Hallihan attended the Alternate Route Training Program at Passaic County Police Academy, where she was the first female commanding officer for a graduating class.
“This is a particularly great achievement for two reasons: One, this position is normally bestowed upon police officers who are already hired, so it is a rare
occasion to have an alternate route candidate as a class commanding officerm” Pontillo said.
“Two, she is the first ever female commanding officer of a Passaic County Police Academy Training Class,” he said.
Pontillo wrote, “On behalf of Westwood Police Department and the Westwood community, we congratulate Police Officer Stephanie Hallihan, welcome her to our ranks, and invite her family to be a part of our police family.”