‘Memorable’ Bloomfield Police Promotions Marked By Diversity

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A “memorable” promotion ceremony for the Bloomfield Police Department was marked by diversity, town officials recently reported.

Last week, the Bloomfield Division of Public Safety held an event at Town Hall. During the ceremony, three sergeants were promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and one detective and three officers were promoted to the rank of sergeant.

According to the BPD, the lieutenants are:

• Ian Brundage
• Mark Moskal
• Luca Piscitelli

The sergeants are:

• Anthony Batelli
• Paul Charles
• Jen Horn
• Nicholas Mauriello

Bloomfield officials said that two promotions in particular helped to make strides towards diversity on the force:

• “Sergeant Paul Charles [is] the first African American detective promoted to the rank of sergeant since Captain Malcolm Boone retired in 1984 in the Bloomfield Police Department, 37 years ago.”
• “Sergeant Jen Horn is the first openly gay LGBTQ member in the Bloomfield Police Department, and [joins] Lieutenant Naomi Zepeda as the second female supervisor currently employed in the police department.”

“Our department works hard to ensure the safety of Bloomfield families and their property on a daily basis,” Director of Public Safety Samuel DeMaio said, adding that the promoted officers “have exhibited tremendous leadership on the job.”

Mayor Michael Venezia commended the department and the officers.

“It is also great to see that the department continues to lead the way when it comes to having a diverse and inclusive force,” Venezia said.

• See related article: Bloomfield Police Give 'De-Escalation' Training To 50 Officers

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