METUCHEN — It was a celebration for an end of a police career and a beginning of another at the Metuchen Borough Council meeting.
A proclamation was read on March 5 for Police Sgt. James Connolly, whose retirement was effective Dec. 31. He spent 25 years with the Metuchen Police Department, six of those years as sergeant of patrol.
Mayor Jonathan Busch said Connolly was not able to make it to the meeting due to a family emergency and the proclamation would be given to him at another time.
The celebration continued with the swearing in of Christoper John Lewandowski. Busch said at the last council meeting on Feb. 20, the council went into closed session to determine whether or not to hire Lewandowski.
“We were very impressed with [Lewandowski]. We hired him that night and for him to start working as soon as possible, we swore him the next morning in my office,” he said.
Busch said the swearing in ceremony at the meeting on March 5 was more ceremonial for family and friends.
“[In my office] we just had Lt. [Arthur] Flaherty,” he said.
Police Chief David Irizarry thanked the mayor and council for their support.
“Especially with this situation, we needed to expedite the process,” he said. “Chris had graduated from the alternate route [police] academy and he was being courted by many other police departments and we knew we wanted Chris.”
Irizarry said Lewandowski grew up in the borough.
“He became an intern [in the department] many, many years ago, then he fortunately was hired as a dispatcher [in Metuchen] and he became head dispatcher,” he said.
Lewandowski then went through the alternate route program to become a police officer.
“The stars lined up. He graduated and we had an opening and here he is,” Irizarry said. “It’s a great story behind Chris.”
Lewandowski’s hiring is one of the many changes due to retirements that have occurred in the Metuchen Police Department in the past several months. On Jan. 16, Kevin Doherty was sworn in as sergeant, filling the shoes of Connolly. Longtime Police Capt. Michael Kilker’s retirement was effective Oct. 1. On Oct. 2, three long-time officers, JP Therrien, Arthur Flaherty and Kenneth Bauer, were promoted in anticipation of the retirement.
On Nov. 6, two officers, Kelsey L. Florczak and Kevin Ryan, were sworn in as new officers with the department.
