The above photo depicts Police Officer Robert Flynn being sworn in to the position of Police Sergeant by Township Administrator/Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh, during the February 23rd, 2017 promotion ceremony. 

The members of the Lacey Township Police Department are proud to announce the promotion of  three police officers to the rank of Sergeant on February 23rd, 2017.  The first officer promoted was 16-year police veteran Robert Flynn, who for the prior two years has been serving as an Acting-Sergeant in patrol and administration. Sergeant Flynn received a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University in 1997 and a Master’s degree from Seton Hall University in 2007. He served in the United States Army Reserves for eight years and was Honorably discharged in 2000. Sergeant R. Flynn has long distinguished himself as a conscientious and very hard worker. He is a member of both the Lacey Township Fatal and Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Support Teams. Sergeant Flynn has extensive training in crash investigtaions and is the only active police officer in Ocean County who is an accredited traffic accident reconstructionist (ACTAR). He is a member of the Ocean County Police Traffic Safety Officer’s  Association and a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). Sergeant Flynn is highly involved with the schools, teaching defensive driving,  “Alive at 25” and “Share the Keys.”  Sergeant R. Flynn will continue to serve as a patrol supervisor/shift commander.

The above photo depicts Police Detective Robert Surtees being sworn in to the position of Police Sergeant by Township Administrator/Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh, during the February 23rd, 2017 promotion ceremony.

The second officer promoted was 17-year police veteran Robert Surtees. Sergeant Surtees is a graduate of the 201st Municipal Class at the New Jersey State Police Academy. He spent the first eight years in the patrol division until he was transferred to the Detective Bureau. He was recently assigned to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotocs Task Force in order to help fight against the county-wide and state-wide heroin epidemic. Sergeant Surtees is an 11-year Veteran of the United States Marine Corp where he participated in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and having served in Kosovo, Africa, and Iraq. Sergeant Surtees will serve as a patrol supervisor/shift commander.

The third officer promoted to Sergeant was 23-year-police veteran Michael Eden. Sergeant Eden spent a majority of his career assigned to the patrol division. In 2016 he was assigned to the Internal Affairs and Professional Standards Unit. Sergeant Eden is a Firearms instructor and served as the department’s assistant training officer. He is a member of the Forked River and Bamber Lakes Fire Departments and involved with the Lacey Township Dive Team. Sergeant Eden is a Deputy Fire Warden for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. In 2013 Sergeant Eden received the Valor Award and Lifesaving Award for saving a pregnant woman from a residential structure fire in Lacey Township.

The below photo depicts Police Detective Michael Eden being sworn in to the position of Police Sergeant by Township Adminsitrator/Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh, during the February 23rd, 2017 promotion ceremony.

The three new Sergeant promotions are not additions to the Police Command Staff. They replaced the Acting-Sergeant positions that began in 2015 as a result of not having a current New Jersey Civil Service Sergeant’s list. The New Jersey Civil Service Sergeant’s exam was finally administered in February 2016 and the results were provided in December 2016.

I want to congradulate all three officers and their families on their promotions.  There is a lot of work behind the scene that goes into a police promotion, including but not limited to endless studying.  The families often make big sacrifices, and again I want to show my appreciation and respect.  I look forward to working with each new sergeant.

I want to thank Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo, Deputy Mayor Nick Juliano and Committeemen Gary Quinn, Steven Kennis and Tim McDonald, along with Township Adminstrator Veronica Laureigh and CFO Linda Picaro-Covello for their continued support of the police department. I look forward to working with everyone in the future.

I am very proud of our police department and the newly promoted sergeants.

-Chief Michael C. DiBella