Police Department Promotes Pair, Welcomes New Officer

The this week promoted two officers and welcomed one newcomer to the force in an ongoing effort to rebuild and restructure the department after losing officers due to .

With the new hire, the department has 62 officers, nearing the 64-member force that Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski hopes to employ by the end of the fiscal year in June.

"We're still down, but we're gradually climbing," he said at a Monday morning ceremony at the . "We just have to make sure it all falls in line with the budget."

From the most recent group of applicants who began the testing process in late May, Klimakowski said that four have been hired thus far, including former Seaside Heights officer Joseph Fastige, who was sworn in as a patrolman at the Monday morning ceremony.

"We're really proud to have him here," the chief said. "When all was said and done, Joe rose to the top. It was really important to get him on as soon as possible."

The 22-year-old Seaside Heights resident graduated Central Regional High School in Bayville in 2007, completed his associates' degree in criminal justice from Ocean County College in 2010, and holds a New Jersey Police Training Commission Class II certificate, Klimakowski said. 

"One of his other proud moments was arresting Snooki," the chief said jokingly as he held up a picture of Fastige escorting the MTV "Jersey Shore" cast member from the Seaside Heights beach following a July, 2010, disorderly conduct incident.

About 270 prospects applied for the physical fitness test in April, the first part of the hiring process. 

"It's very well known throughout the state as being one of the harder entrance exams, so to make it through that portion, it is something huge," the chief said. 

Of those who passed, 170 were given the written exam, and the top 25 scorers on that were then considered for positions, the chief said. The best are then invited back for more interviews. 

Two veteran patrolmen, Bryan Vidovich and Charles Brooks, were promoted to sergeant during the ceremony. Promotional testing, which Klimakowski said "is not an easy process," began on July 15 and concluded on Sept. 15.

"Basically, you write off your summer because you know that the next eight to nine weeks you'll spend studying," the chief said. 

Vidovich, who has been with the department for 13 years, received an associates' degree in criminal justice from OCC in 1996. He was the department's first Class II Special Officer who was hired in 1997. Vidovich has received the Chief's Award three times, a meritorious service award and and two exceptional duty awards during his tenure with the force, Klimakowski said.

Vidovich also served as a DARE officer and as a member of the regional SWAT team. 

"It requires a lot dedication, a lot of your personal time and a lot of training to get into [SWAT]," Klimakowski said. "Brian did that since 2006 and he did a really good job. He's really dedicated to what he does."

Brooks, who received his associates' degree in criminal justice in 1999 from OCC, has served with the department for 11 years. He was hired in 2000 and has served his entire time as a patrolman, having received the Exceptional Duty and Life Saving awards three times each and a meritorious service award. He serves as an adviser to the Explorer program and is a field training officer, among other positions.

"He started here and went through the school system here in Manchester," Klimakowski said. "He dedicates a lot of his personal time to guys in the the Explorer post, teaching them about law enforcement and what we do ... He's certainly going to be a tremendous asset."

The recent focus on restructuring the police department has helped to rejuvenate the force, said business administrator Elena Zsoldos. 

"With these promotions and the ones we've had, we've been able to bring unity back to the department," she said. "It has boosted morale."

Last month, two sergeants were .

Zsoldos said that adding more officers this year is "a possibility."

"We're going to wait and see when we get the budget together," she said.

Manchester's CFO Diane Lapp told the township council last week that the budget will be introduced at the body's Oct. 10 meeting.

Klimakowski said that the department, which , is "heading in the right direction."

The chief thanked township administrators for their help in budgeting in new hires.

"Without them and the work that they do, this wouldn't be possible," Klimakowski said of Zsoldos and Lapp, who watched the ceremony from the audience.