Brick Swears in 5 New Police Officers

By Karen Wall

Five new probationary police officers have been sworn in as members of the Brick Township Police Department.

Sgt. Henry Drew said the five -- Michael DeMaio, Daniel Testa, Jeffrey Melia, Michael Dinnebeil and Michael Zolezi Jr. -- were sworn in Tuesday in the township’s Municipal Courtroom. They will attend the Ocean County Police Academy from Aug. 4 until graduation on Jan. 13, 2015.

DeMaio, 30, has been a corrections officer for the Monmouth County Corrections Office for three years and is a member of its emergency response team. He is a 2002 graduate of Brick Township High School and attended Ocean County College, Rutgers University and Kean University, and has an associate’s degree. He is a Marine Corps veteran and served in Iraq in 2005 before being honorably discharged in 2006. His father, Vincent, is a retired Hillside police officer, and Michael will be joining his brother, Anthony, who is a Brick Township police officer.

Testa, 33, is an Army National Guard veteran and served two deployments in Iraq before receving an honorable discharge in 2009. He is a 1999 graduate of A.L. Johnson High School in Clark. He has worked for T-Mobile USA as a network operations technician. He and his wife, Karina, have two sons, Matthew, 6, and Daniel, 4.

Melia, 25, is a Marine Corps veteran and served in Afghanistan before being honorably discharged in 2013. He is a 2008 graduate of Brick Township High School and lives with his parents, Dennis and Anne. He previously worked security for Jenkinson’s Pavilion in Point Pleasant Beach.

Dinnebeil, 29, was a Special Class II police officer with the Seaside Heights Police Department from 2009 to 2013. He is a 2003 graduate of Toms River High School North and attended Richard Stocktonh College in Galloway. He had been an assistant manager at Jenkinson’s South in Point Pleasant Beach before being hired by Brick.

Zolezi, 21, worked for the Seaside Heights Police Department as a Special Class II officer and for the Lavallette Police Department as a Special Class I officer from 2012 to 2013. He is a 2011 graduate of Manchester Township High School and attended Brookdale Community College in Middletown. He lives with his mother and stepfather, Heather Morris DiPianta and Guy DiPianta. His father, Michael Sr., is a sergeant with the Brick Township Police Department.