New School Resource Officers Hired For Washington Township District

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Washington Township Police Department has hired two new School Resource Officers to work in the Washington Township School District beginning in September.

Next fall, the district will welcome Sgt. Robert Oranchak and PO Adam Feichter, both of whom have decades of experience in the township, are DARE certified and have direct connections to the schools.

Both officers have spent many years teaching in schools and have been directly involved in departmental community policing functions throughout their careers.

"Our focus is and always will be on the safety and mentoring of our children in town and ensuring they can learn and grow in a safe environment. No officer in this department will ever hesitate to act when called upon should the unthinkable occur," Chief Jeffrey Almer said.

Oranchak and Feichter are undergoing training in the L.E.A.D. curriculum in order to bring more programs into the schools. Having a supervisor in the school adds another resource to help with decision-making, investigations and overall program oversight, according to police.

"In response to all that is going on in the world today, know that all the officers on the Washington Township Police Department are highly trained in Active Shooter Response, Tactical Maneuvers, De-escalation, bleeding control and first aid, as well as required training in multiple areas that allow them to literally be the best officers there are," Almer said.

Following the attacks in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, leaders and officials across the country, including those in Washington Township, have expressed their feelings about the tragedy.

"I have been made aware of numerous discussions pertaining to this issue and the fact that anyone would ever think that I, or others, would look to do anything that takes away from caring for our children, is disturbing, as nothing is more important than the safety of our schools. It is unfortunate that certain individuals opted to promote misinformation and cause concern in our community, especially in the wake of the tragedy in Texas, instead of contacting me directly to verify what they had heard. As I have always said, my door is always open and I am always available to discuss anything in town. We might not always agree and that can be a good thing, but we can always share a cup of coffee, have an open conversation, and share information that might explain things better than the speculations on social media," Almer said.

According to the Attorney General's guidelines, all SROs are also outfitted with body-worn cameras. In addition to the regular SROs, the police supplement school security by having patrol officers do random walks through the schools and patrol the parking lots during their tours of duty, so there are often multiple officers at any given school at any given time.