The township swore in new officers Robert Haynes and Isaiah Lewis in front of their families and friends at a June 12 council meeting.
“They both graduated from the Camden County Police Academy last week,” Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller noted. “They’re undergoing additional in-house agency training for two weeks, then they’ll enter our field-training program for 12 weeks, where they’ll ride with another officer (as) they learn the job from the passenger seat of the police vehicle.”
Haynes has been an Evesham resident in Evesham his entire life. A graduate of Cherokee High School. he holds an associate’s degree in exercise science from Camden County College (CCC), and will complete a bachelor’s this year in liberal studies – with a concentration in health studies/law and justice – from Rowan University.
Haynes has served the police department as an SLEO (Special Law Enforcement Officer) Class I.
Lewis was raised and still resides in Willingboro. He attended the Burlington County Institute of Technology for high school and went on to play collegiate baseball at both Rowan College at Burlington County and Erksine College in South Carolina. Lewis was a three-sport athlete in football, baseball and basketball and played one season of professional baseball in California before deciding on law enforcement.
Miller noted a unique achievement by Lewis while he attended the police academy.
“Last week at the police academy graduation, they have the recruits go through rigorous defensive driving training to simulate pursuit and emergency response driving,” Miller explained. “There were 70 graduates in the class and Isaiah won the award for the highest ability in performance and driving.”
Evesham Mayor Jaclyn Veasy cited the township offers for protecting the community.
“It just puts it a little bit more into perspective,” she remarked. “I always joke that (officers) sign their life away to the residents of Evesham, but it’s not really a joke. We have our police awards dinner every year, and I always say I can’t really thank them enough for all they do for the residents, especially when you see a new officer standing here with a 1-year-old child who goes out every day to take care of us.
“So I just want to say thank you to (the police department).”
The next Evesham council session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10, at the township municipal courtroom.
