Local Kids Named Police Chiefs for a Day

Two lucky students were chosen to be police chiefs for the day Friday representing their respective municipalities. Each got sworn in Friday morning by the mayor and took a tour of the police station with the chief.

Sean Ender, a third-grader at in Washington Township, was chosen as the township's chief for the day. Police Officer Heather Castronova decided Sean would make a great candidate.

"Since I'm a D.A.R.E. officer, I know all the kids in all the schools so I decided to pick a child I thought was most deserving of the day," Castronova said. "He came to me right away."

Sean was all smiles Friday morning as Mayor Janet Sobkowicz swore him in as chief. His mother, Alison, said she thought the program was great. "He's very excited," Alison said. "From the moment we told him about it he's been over the top."

Castronova said Sean received a $100 gift card to EB Games and a basket full of memorabilia from Police Week in Washington, D.C. as part of the program. She said he would also get a plaque and a Good Citizenship Award from the .

Township Police Chief Randy Ciocco said he liked the idea of the Chief for a Day program right away. "It's such a special thing to see Sean being so excited," he said.

In Westwood it was the same story. There, sixth-grader Joseph Annunziata, who attends Forum School in Waldwick, said he found the whole day "exciting."

Mayor John Birkner Jr. swore Joseph in before Chief Frank Regino showed him around headquarters and explained his job.

Regino said he thought the program was very worthwhile. "I think it's a wonderful thing and I intend to participate as long as I'm chief," he said.

Westwood Police Officer Niko Pieratos said he reached out to the to help find Joseph and get donations to give to him. Joseph received two $50 gift certificates to a variety of local stores and eight movie passes to the . He also got LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0, which is a set that allows the user to make robots, one of Joseph's hobbies.

Joseph's father, Chris, said he is very interested in working with electronics and even wants to build roller coasters someday.

"He's an amazing kid," Pieratos said. "I feel like I'm the one getting something out of it."

This was the first countywide Chief for a Day event that included local police departments, the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office. Each participating local department chose a child between 5 and 11 years old living in the community who has a chronic health condition.

Each "chief" received a uniform and hat to keep and a plaque and certificate to commemorate participation. They went to the Bergen County Justice Center in Hackensack for a group ceremony and Memorial Park in Lodi for a lunch and law enforcement demonstrations.