2 New Police Officers Hired To Patrol Parsippany Schools

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Parsippany Township officials have agreed to hire two new Class III police officers to increase school safety in the district.

During the Oct. 10 town council meeting, the township council unanimously voted on a resolution authorizing the appointment of two new special law enforcement officers for the district.

According to Business Administrator Jamie Cryan, the two police officers hired are Edward Lepre, a retired detective from the Hoboken Police Department, and Detective Daniel Cicala, a former Parsippany Police Department member.

"Both will be incredible assets to our team, getting years and years of experience and not having to pay the full weight of that experience, since they are retired," Cryan said.

Class III officers are retired law enforcement officers hired to provide school security and fulfill safety duties in schools, and they are supervised by the local police departments throughout the state, including Parsippany.

Although they are funded through the Board of Education budget, they are still considered members of the local police departments.

The eligibility requirements for a Class III officer are:

• Be a retired law enforcement officer less than 65 years old who served as a duly qualified, fully trained, full-time police officer in any municipality or county of New Jersey, or as a member of the New Jersey State Police, and was separated from that prior service in good standing within three years of appointment as a Class III officer.
• Be capable of passing firearms qualifications as mandated by the New Jersey Attorney General's guidelines.
• Applicants who are offered a Class III position will be required to pass a medical examination, psychological screening, and drug screening pursuant to the N.J. AG Drug Testing Policy.
• Be a resident of N.J. with a valid N.J. Driver’s License.
• Applicants must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Applicants must possess a New Jersey PTC Basic Police Officer or NJSP Academy Certification.
• Must be physically capable of performing the functions of the position.
• Applicants must provide a letter of good standing from the Chief of Police/Officer in Command of the agency they retired from, including their dates of employment, type of retirement, and good standing status.

The Parsippany Police Department has a chain of command that includes a Chief of Police, Deputy Chief of Police, Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants, Detectives, Patrol Officers, Class II and III (part-time) Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEOs), Public Safety Telecommunicators (dispatchers) and civilian personnel.