The department received more than 100 essays from youngsters competing for the special program, Police Chief Tom Norton said.
"Unfortunately we could only have 4 winners," he said.
They were:
- "Chief" Ryan Barnhardt, Wanaque
- "Detective Captain" Sarah Samadi, Haskell
- "Captain" Sean Mena, Haskell
- "Lieutenant" Mikey Slepakoff, Wanaque
Uniformed patrol units picked up the students at school in the morning and took them to the Municipal Court, where they were "sworn in" by Mayor Dan Mahler and Norton.
Detective Sgt. Phil Cavallari then gave them a tour of the building.
Training included a lesson in firearm safety and marksmanship -- followed by qualification with simulated handguns -- and a review fingerprinting and booking procedures.
The youngsters were then turned over to their police counterparts to learn the functions of each.
At the end students had to do what officer cop dreads Write an official report.
Only it had to detail their activities for the day and not an incident.
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