The new officers during their oath taking ceremony (Municipality of Princeton)
PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Police Department welcomed four new officers this week in an oath ceremony led by Police Chief Matthew Solovay, marking the start of their careers in law enforcement.
Angelina Moench, Joseph Horn, Eliza Ford, and Justin Tisdale were sworn in before family, friends, council members, and the Princeton community.
"Tonight marks the beginning of an important journey for four individuals who have made the decision to answer a call to public service and begin careers in law enforcement," Solovay said. "We are especially proud that these four individuals have chosen to begin that journey here in Princeton and become a part of the family of the Princeton Police Department."
Solovay noted that the four recruits still have the police academy and field training ahead of them before their careers as full officers begin in earnest.
Each of the new officers brings a different path to the department:
Angelina Moench, of Manalapan, graduated from Westchester University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. She first became interested in law enforcement through a four-year public safety program in high school, and later pursued it in college through the Criminal Justice Student Association, a firearms team, and by tutoring youth on probation. She most recently worked for the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, building on an earlier internship there.
Joseph Horn grew up in Hamilton and attended Notre Dame High School before transferring to the Hunt School of Princeton, where he was heavily involved in athletics. He went on to play Division I football at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Maine, graduating with a bachelor's degree in business management. He later worked at his family's transmission service business in Hamilton before joining the department.
Eliza Ford, of Monmouth Beach, graduated from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, with a double major in criminology and sociology and a minor in psychology. A competitive soccer player growing up, she completed EMT training in college and shadowed detectives with the Clark Police Department. For the past eight years, she has served as an ocean rescue lifeguard in Monmouth Beach, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
Justin Tisdale's connection to Princeton dates back to childhood, when he attended Princeton Recreation's day camp and took part in the Princeton Police Department Youth Academy. As a teenager, he returned to the day camp as a counselor. After graduating from Florence High School, Tisdale earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Rutgers University–Camden. He now returns to Princeton as a police officer in the same community where his youth programs first sparked his interest in law enforcement.
The four recruits took their oath of office, pledging to support the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions and to faithfully, impartially, and justly perform their duties as probationary police officers.