At the Monday, May 15 borough council meeting, Palmyra’s police officers were awarded for their service to the community over the past year.
Palmyra’s borough council meeting centered around safety, with Police Chief Scott Pearlman acknowledging and thanking Palmyra’s officers for their service. Pearlman did so as a part of the police department awards ceremony during the Monday, May 15 meeting.
The awards ceremony corresponded with National Police Week, which was May 15 to May 21. Pearlman said the awards started in 2006 and have become an annual event during police week.
“There’s so much that we do on a daily basis that these guys go over and above for,” Pearlman said.
Pearlman unveiled the department’s first officer of the year award to patrolman Jeremy Jankowski. Pearlman said looking back on 2016, one name stood out, and he described Jankowski as one of the department’s “most productive officers in the field.”
In 2016, Jankowski had more than 40 drug arrests to his name in addition to serving as a firearms instructor and working with the department’s senior, junior and citizens’ police academies.
“The Palmyra police department’s officer of the year award is presented annually to an officer who is well rounded, has exceeded the duty requirements of his or her position and has demonstrated a distinct pattern of community service,” Pearlman said.
Jankowski received a pin to wear on his uniform, and his name is the first to adorn a plaque that will hang in Palmyra’s police station. Each subsequent recipient of the award will have his or her name added to the plaque.
Sgt. Timothy Leusner was honored for 15 years of service, and patrolman Alex Hubel was honored for completing his first year.
Jankowski, Tyler Main and Brian Johnson received an honorable service award for a car stop that led to the seizure of methamphetamine, while Det. Arek Arargil was honored for saving the life of a choking resident.
Palmyra’s police officers were not the only ones who received accolades. Pearlman also thanked residents Lee Park and Sarah Valentine. The pair witnessed a burglary and reported it to the police department. Ultimately, the burglar was found later in the day and arrested.
“I don’t think we would have had it as fast as we had it if it wasn’t for them calling us,” Pearlman said.
In other news:
Policing by residents became a topic for discussion following the awards. Use of Legion Athletic Fields by non-residents had council member Gina Tait and borough administrator John Gural emphasizing residents’ rights to call the police on any non-Palmyra based group using Legion field without prior permission.
Tait said Palmyra’s sports teams that use the fields for games and practice have recently encountered sports teams not based out of Palmyra on the fields. She said the unauthorized use has disrupted the hometown teams’ regularly scheduled practices.
“The township comes first and the kids come first,” Tait said.
The discussion came on the heels of representatives from the New Jersey Rams semi-developmental football team inquiring about renting Legion Field for their games. Members of council questioned what sort of liability renting the field would open them up to and how the borough would charge for the wear and tear that would affect the fields if they began renting them.
“There is no mechanism to rent our fields to outside organizations,” Gural said.
Council president Timothy Howard said the Youth and Recreation committee would have to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the idea of offering Legion Athletic Fields for rent as well as strategies for handling the unauthorized use of the space.
Council’s next meeting will take place on Monday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
