Wave Of New Police Officers Meet Their Community In Newark: VIDEO

NEWARK, NJ — One by one, a proud parade of new police officers in Newark stood before a microphone and introduced themselves, letting their audience know exactly why they decided to join the force.

“I’m the first police officer in my family.”

“I always wanted to be a role model.”

“Helping has been an essential part of my life since I was younger.”

That was the scene at the Donald M. Payne School of Technology in Newark on Tuesday, when city officials held an event to introduce a wave of new police officers to the community (watch the video below).

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé, Chief of Police Emanuel Miranda and Deputy Public Safety Director of Community Relations Ronald Slaughter were among those on hand to clap for the officers, who hail from two separate police academy classes sworn in during November and January.

Since then, the new officers have taken up posts at precincts across the city. And for some, it represents a dream come true.

“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer since I was a little kid,” explained one officer, who was born in Brooklyn and moved to Newark four years ago.

“I came from a neighborhood with a lot of minorities,” he continued. “I saw a lot of bad interactions, but I always had really good ones, so I just wanted to be that officer that people can relate to – that people can talk to.”

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