Academy Students, Officers Swap Patrol Stories

Students traded police ride-along stories and learned about the patrol division at a Wednesday night Citizens’ Police Academy meeting.

Three students strapped on bulletproof vests and rode shotgun with patrolling Cranford police officers last week.

“I was trying to loosen my bulletproof vest so I could slip it over my head,” said John Shubeck about his Saturday night ride-along that allowed him to witness a couple of car stops and radar tickets.

Ceil Burisch and Officer Chris DiFabio followed a driver who ran a stop sign on Thursday night.

“I just sat there while we were chasing that kid and held on,” said Burisch. She also got to look on while officers responded to and arrested a suspect during a domestic violence call. 

Brian Pizzella rode with Officer Robert Jordan to a residence on Manor Avenue Friday night where the owner thought she had heard her window break. While her window was intact, another had been broken on Columbia Avenue. This was the same incident that led to the arrest of a suspected burglar who had fled the scene and was later captured during a vehicle stop.

When they finished swapping stories, Lt. James Wozniak explained the patrol division structure and duties to the students. He also walked them through the five patrol posts, the patrol schedule, support, training and equipment.

Patrol officers carry 35 to 40 pounds of equipment with them during their 12-hour shifts.

“Nobody calls us asking us to come over and have some cake,” he said of the patrol division. “We get calls like my wife threw a shoe at me or my son’s not breathing. We’re just the ones that run out there to help.”

Cranford police strive to maintain a four-car patrol minimum at all times. They check schools, businesses, select enforcement areas on a daily basis, and hold safety checkpoints every month.

“A huge part of this job is empathy,” Wozniak said. “This call might be the biggest thing that’s happening to that person on that day. Pretend that’s your mom calling or pretend that’s your grandmother calling.”

He spoke of the emotional ups and downs that every patrol officer has to come to terms with.

Wozniak described how he was the officer on scene where a child had been crushed to death by a fallen bookcase.

"I went home that night and you bet I pulled my sleeping kid of out his crib and cried my eyes out," he said. "But once that call is over you have to get ahold of yourself and go to something else. You have to finish your shift."

Meetings are held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the municipal building unless otherwise noted. The class is full.

Contact Lt. Robert Colaneri at 908-709-7358 for more information.