ICYMI: Brick Township Promotes 7 Police Officers

BRICK, NJ -- When Police Chief James Riccio was sworn in last week, he was joined at the promotion ceremonies by seven members of the Brick Township Police Department who were promoted along with him.

The promotions:

Robert Mazza, in his 27th year on the force, was promoted to deputy chief under Riccio. Mazza was hired in 1989 as a special officer and communications operator, and then hired full-time as an officer in 1995. He graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy and received the Leadership Award from his classmates there, and in 1996 received a bachelor’s degree from Jersey City State College. In 2007 he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University as a certified public manager, according to his biography.

Mazza was a field training officer, has served on the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force, worked as a juvenile detective and a school resource officer, and as a member of the department’s Special Emergency Response Team. He has worked on all three patrol shifts and with the department’s drug enforcement unit, where he was the lead detective in Ocean County’s first strict liability murder investigation (the law that holds drug dealers liable for the death of someone who overdoses).

Mazza was promoted to sergeant in 2002, lieutenant in 2005 and served as the 4-12 shift commander, and promoted to captain in 2012, and commanded the Community Policing and the Investigative divisions.

During Superstorm Sandy, Mazza, the SERT commander, was in charge of search-and-rescue operations during the storm and was forward commander on the barrier island during the aftermath, overseeing search-and-rescue and security detai.

He is the recipient of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office’s Douglas C. King Award, the N.J. Narcotics Task Force Commander’s Execptional Duty Award and the Lt. Thomas McNelis Award, as well as 11 medals and six chief’s certificates.

Donald Ling, who is about to begin his 21st year with the department, was promoted to captain. Ling was a Class II Police Officer with the Seaside Heights Police Department after graduating from the Ocean County Police Academy in 1992. He was a full-time officer with the Island Heights Police Department from 1993 until joining Brick in January 1995. He was a field training officer, and later as part of the traffic safety unit was one of the original members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office’s Fatal Accident Response Team and Hit-and-Run Emergency Action Team.

Ling was promoted to sergeant in 2002 and served as evening shift supervisor until 2005, when he became supervisor of the traffic safety unit. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2011 and put in charge of the Internal Affairs Unit. In 2013 he was reassigned as the deputy operations division commander, overseeing the SET team and the field training officers program.

Ling, who was joined by his wife of 27 years, Eva, and their two children, Jennifer and Jonathan, has received three meritorious service awards, three Grand Cordon Awards, an Honorable Service Award, an Exceptional Duty Award and numerous chiefs certificates and commendations.

Vincent Pacitti, a 30-year member of the department, was promoted to captain. Pacitti joined the department in 1985 and was promoted to sergeant in 1995 while remaining in the patrol division.

He was promoted to lieutenant in 2008 and took command of the Professional Standards Unit, which is responsible for department training, hiring process, policy development and accreditation. Pacitti has been the accreditation manager for the department’s initial assessment in 2012 and the recent reassessment.

He was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Joy, and adult children Rebecca, Erica and Joseph, who also is a Brick Township Police Officer. They have seven grandchildren.

Michael Zolezi, a 21-year member of the department, was promoted to lieutenant. Zolezi began his law enforcement career in 1988 while serving as a U.S. Marine Corps reservist. He graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy in May 1990 and was a provisional police officer for the Seaside Park Police Department.

In 1990 his Marine Corps Reserve unit was activated and served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm during the Gulf War and received numerous awards and citations. Upon his return he worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections at East Jersey State Prison (Rahway) and graduated from the N.J. State Corrections Officer Academy.

Zolezi joined the Brick force in May 1994 and graduated from the Gloucester County Police Academy. He has worked in the operations division, served as a field training officer, on the marine unit and the bicycle unit. He has been a detective in the drug enforcement unit and was assigned to the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force. Zolezi represented the Brick Township Police Department at Ground Zero, assisting with the recovery efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks. He was promoted to sergeant in December 2008 and was a squad supervisor on the second shift and third shift until he became the Administrative Services sergeant, supervising dispatcher, fleet maintenance and more.

Zolezi, who was joined by his wife, Michele and children Annalisa and Michael Jr., who also is a Brick Township police officer, has received several awards including Meritorious Service, Honorable Service, Grand Cordon and Life Saving, as well as numerous commendations.

Joseph Forrester, who is in his 14th year with the department, was promoted to lieutenant.

Forrester comes from a law enforcement family. His father, Robert Forrester, retired as a captain after 33 years and was one of the first officers hired when Brick Township established its police force in 1972. His oldest brother, Robert Forrester, is a lieutenant with the New Jersey State Police, where he has served for 28 years. His other brother, David Forrester, is a lieutenant in Brick with nearly 20 years of service.

Forrester, who has worked all three patrol shifts since he began his career with the department in 2002, was promoted to sergeant in 2007 and in 2009 was tasked with supervising the Selective Enforcement Team until he was assigned to supervise the drug enforcement unit in 2011.

Forrester, who had the top score in the state on the lieutenant’s exam, which was taken by more than 300 sergeants, is senior at The College of New Jersey seeking a bachelor’s degree in finance. He has received numerous awards, including Meritorious Service, Honorable Service, Grand Cordon, life-saving and others, and in 2006 was a nominee for Officer of the Year.

Forrester, who was joined by his wife, Whitney, and two children at the ceremony, also served in the Air National Guard for six years and was a member of the Brick Rotary.

Paul Catalina, a nine-year member of the department, was promoted to sergeant. He is a Brick Township native and a graduate of Brick Memorial High School, Ocean County College and received his bachelor’s degree with honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Catalina, who is a member of the bicycle unit and the Honor Guard Unit, is the human partner of K-9 Officer Duke. The pair graduated from the Toms River Township Patrol and Narcotics K-9 Academies in 2013 and are nationally certified in narcotics detection. Catalina also has achieved the title of expert marksman. Prior to joining the Brick force, Catalina was a special officer in Point Pleasant Beach and a sheriff’s officer in the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.

Catalina, who was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Kristen, and their infant daughter Briella, has represented the department on the Police Unity Tour and has received numerous awards, including honorable service, life saving, Grand Cordon and numerous letters praising his service.

Peter Thomas, in his 19th year with the department, was promoted to sergeant. Thomas, who was born and raised in Point Pleasant, spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and then six years with the United Nations before joining the Brick force in September 1997.

Thomas was assigned as a detective to the Identification Bureau in 2003, and spent five years on the SERT Team. He is a crisis negotiator for the Brick Township Police Department.

Thomas, who was joined by his wife, Amie, and children Sydney, Aubrey, Shelby and Easton, has received two Meritorious Service Awards, an Exceptional Duty Award, an Honorable Service Award, a Life Saving award and numerous commendations.

(Photos above are in order of the officers’ promotions. Credits: Karen Wall)