4 New Police Officers Hired To Serve Hillsborough Township

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Four new police officers were hired to serve Hillsborough Township.

Mayor Robert Britting, Jr. swore in Omar Basuf, Brandon Botiquin, Justin Mekhail, and Travis Warnock at the Dec. 10 Committee meeting.

"It's always an exciting day when we get to swear in some new officers. It’s a growing department, it’s a young department so we are getting a great group of officers who went through a long tedious process and they were our top candidates for hire," said Hillsborough Police Captain Scott W. McCarthy. "They bring a lot of experience and different backgrounds in areas that they will be great assets for our department."

Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, the Township Committee unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the hiring, effective Dec. 11, for Basuf with a salary of $78,050, Botiquin for $56,877, Mekhail for $56,877, and Warnock for $56,877.

Mekhail graduated from Kean University in 2022, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and a Minor Degree in Psychology. He then attended and graduated from the Atlantic County Police Academy in September 2023. He had been working for the Deptford Township Police Department since July 2023.

Botiquin is a December graduate of the Atlantic County Police Academy. He also attended Middlesex County College before graduating from Rutgers University (Newark) in 2023, majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Psychology. He previously worked for the Edison Township Police Department.

Warnock joins the Hillsborough Township Police Department after graduating from the Monmouth County Police Academy in May. Warnock previously worked for the Deal Police Department.

Basuf is a 2018 graduate of the Passaic County Police Academy. Basuf worked with the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office as a Patrol Officer since 2018.

"If you don’t have a safe town, you don’t have a town. And we believe that in Hillsborough Township," said Britting. "This team is operating incredibly at the highest performing team that I’ve frankly ever seen. Your crew is joining a really strong crew of people who take care of each other and they truly care about the town."

The Hillsborough PBA 205 added that Officers Botiquin, Warnock, Mekhail, and Basuf will be assigned to the Patrol division "and you’ll see them on the road as they begin their field training in the coming weeks. Congratulations and welcome to HTPD!"

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