The above photos depict Lacey Township Police Officer Dimitrios Tsarnas being promoted to the rank of Police Sergeant during the June 20, 2019 Township Meeting. 

 

The Lacey Township Police Department is proud to announce the promotion of a veteran police officer. On the evening of Thursday, June 20, 2019 (last evening), during the Township meeting, Officer Dimitrios Tsarnas was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Sergeant Tsarnas began his law enforcement career in 1997 as a Class I Special Law Enforcement Officer for the Lacey Township Police Department. He attended the Ocean County Police Academy Special Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy and graduated in May 1998 with a certification as a Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer. He continued to work for the Lacey Township Police Department as both a Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer and Police Dispatcher.

In 1999 Sergeant Tsarnas briefly left the Lacey Township Police Department to begin a career as a Correction’s Officer. He worked for the New Jersey State Department of Corrections and then moved to the Ocean County Department of Corrections. While working as a Correction’s Officer, he was simultaneously employed as a Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer for the Barnegat Township Police Department.  Throughout his early career, Sergeant Tsarnas was constantly working to excel in his field and did not pass on any opportunities to better himself and his law enforcement career.

In December of 2000, Sergeant Tsarnas was re-hired by the Lacey Township Police Department as full-time police officer. For the majority of his 19 year career he has been assigned to the uniformed patrol division. In the summer of 2016 Sergeant Tsarnas was assigned as an Acting-Sergeant in charge of a patrol squad and remained in that position until February 2017. While in that position he displayed all the qualifications needed to be a leader and a supervisor, and proudly served the residents of Lacey Township. In the spring of 2017, Sergeant Tsarnas was assigned as a detective in the training bureau. Furthermore, for a period of one year, he was assigned to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force.

Sergeant Tsarnas is a trained Drug Recognition Expert, Field Training Officer, and Firearms Instructor. He has led our department most years with the highest amount of DUI arrests. Sergeant Tsarnas has won multiple awards throughout his career related to Drunk Driving Enforcement, including but not limited to the Kimberley Smith Ames Award.

Sergeant Tsarnas is married to his wife Allison, and they have two children. He graduated from Lacey Township High School in 1991 and attended Ocean County College.

Congratulations on your promotion, well deserved!!

 

-Chief Michael C. DiBella