Two retirements, two promotions, and two newly-hired. That sums up the most recent changes to the make-up of the Metuchen Police Department.
Before a packed council chambers, all six officers were honored at the Oct. 5 Borough Council meeting. Sgt. Ted Ayotte and Sgt. Steven Wilczynski are each retiring after 25 years of service, while detectives J.P. Therrien and James Connolly were each promoted to sergeant.
The two newly hired officers are Richard Westover, whose father of the same name is a retired Edison police sergeant, and James Keane IV, son of the current police chief.
Each appeared before the council one by one with their families at their side. The council presented Ayotte and Wilczynski with resolutions honoring them for their 25 years of service to the borough, while the four promoted and newly hired officers were sworn in and given new badges.
“I will always be very proud that I was a member of the Metuchen Police Department and served with these wonderful, professional men and women from the top to bottom in the ranks of the police department,” said Ayotte, who also serves on the Metuchen YMCA branch committee which oversees many aspects of the branch. “I will be always eternally grateful to say that I was a member of the Metuchen Police Department.”
“I enjoyed my 25 years, and I’ll never forget you guys,” said Wilczynski.
Police Chief James T. Keane congratulated the four veteran officers for their exemplary record of service and welcomed the two new officers aboard.
“Rich Westover and Jim, congratulations on your appointment to the PD. I look forward to working with both of you, and I’ll see you at 7 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning,” Keane said to laughs and applause from the audience.
About the Metuchen Police Department
The department has 28 total officers. As of last year, the general organization of the police department is as follows:
• The detective bureau consists of one sergeant and three detectives, and their job is to investigate and follow up on all reports generated by the patrol division. They also network with area police departments, including the Edison Police Department, and attend a variety of meetings with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
• The other four sergeants each run a squad. There are four squads in the patrol division, and five officers in each squad. One of those officers is dedicated to traffic enforcement.
• The department now has what is known as the Pitman schedule, with 12-hour shifts from 7-7 am/pm, which was instituted on January 7, 2008. Prior to that, the department worked a 4-and-2 schedule (four days on, two days off) since 1979. Under the previous schedule, each police officer worked 1,946 hours per year, but under the Pitman schedule, each officer will now work a total of 2,013 hours, which means 67 more hours per year per officer at no additional cost to the borough. However, the benefit for the officer is that they now have every other weekend off with a three-day weekend and work fewer actual days per year. Last year, Chief Keane had said publicly that the new schedule had a positive effect on morale and reduced the department’s need for overtime and sick time.
• The officer in each squad that is dedicated to traffic enforcement works an overlap schedule from 6-6 am/pm to allow for an easier transition between shifts and further reduce the need for overtime.
• Metuchen police are the first-responders to most types of emergency calls, including fire calls, with a response time of two to three minutes. If a resident calls because of a fire, the police, Metuchen fire department and, if necessary, Metuchen EMS will be dispatched, but the police department will be the first on-scene.
