North Bergen Township Swears in New Police Officers, Including Military Police Soldier and Former Health Care Worker

The Township of North Bergen held an Oath of Office ceremony for NBPD officers on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at the town hall chambers. The ceremony was presided over by Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pascual. Police Chief Peter Fasilis was the master of ceremonies, and Reverend Yuvan Alvarez performed the invocation and benediction.

Two individuals were promoted from Special Law Enforcement Officers II (SLEO II) to full-time police officers. Ali Jaloudi, a member of the NBPD Honor Guard, has worked as a patrol officer for approximately two years and is currently assigned as a school resource officer. Gerardo Andres Guzman, a lifelong North Bergen resident, is an active Military Police Soldier in the NJ Army National Guard and was deployed for six months to Washington D.C. for the storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. He was honored with the task of being on the quick response force for Vice President Kamala Harris during the 59th presidential inauguration.

In addition, five individuals were sworn in as SLEO II officers, including Fayez Awawdeh, a lifelong resident of North Bergen who has worked in the healthcare field for about six years; Steve Garcia, who previously worked at North Bergen DPW; Thomas Lombardi, a lifelong resident of North Bergen who graduated from North Bergen High School in 2017 and attended William Paterson University; David Ramirez, who received a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in criminal justice from Rutgers University and gained interest in pursuing law enforcement during an internship in Northern State Prison; and Genesis Yepez, a lifelong resident of North Bergen who graduated from North Bergen High School in 2018 and has been employed as a North Bergen police dispatcher since January 2022.

Family members of the new officers, along with representatives from the township administration and the police department, were also in attendance at the ceremony.