On December 5th the Linden Police Department gathered with family and friends to celebrate the promotion of three officers to the rank of Sergeant. The promotions of Kenneth Mikolajczyk, Martin Jedrzejewski, and Joseph Rivera were approved unanimously at the November City Council Meeting.
Michael Babulski, president of the Linden Police Superior Officer Association, said he was pleased to see continued progress in the Police Department “We thank Mayor Armstead and the City Council for their support in bringing our department back from years of neglect. The guidance and leadership shown by Chief Parham during this process has been instrumental.”
Kenneth Mikolajczyk joined the Linden Police Department in January 1993. He worked in the Patrol Division for about six years. In 1999 he was assigned to the Narcotics Bureau, where he participated in over 1000 investigations before he was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Bureau in 2012. In 2016 Det. Mikolajczyk was selected as Officer of the Year for his work as lead investigator in the shooting and subsequent homicide of Linden resident Tyrita Julius.
Martin Jedrzejewski joined the Linden Police Department in July 2005. He served with distinction in the Patrol Division until his assignment to the Narcotics Bureau in January 2015. Within his first year he led a six month, multi-jurisdictional investigation that dismantled heroin mills in both Linden and Carteret that resulted in eight arrests, the recovery of two guns, raw and packaged heroin with a street value of over $1,000,000, and approximately $240,000 in cash.
Joseph Rivera joined the Linden Police Department in January 2009. He has worked in the Patrol Division, and in March 2016 was chosen as a Field Training Officer. He was tasked with mentoring and training officers following their graduation from the Police Academy.
“The vision the Mayor, City Council and I have of improving the safety of the citizens of Linden is closer to being realized, as today we promote three highly decorated police officers to the rank of Sergeant” said Chief Jonathan Parham. “Today’s promotions demonstrate the unified effort between city government and the police department, and brings us closer to reaching our goals of safer streets, and safer citizens.
(above l-r) Chief Jonathan Parham, Mayor Derek Armstead,
Sgt. Joseph Rivera, Sgt. Kenneth Mikolajczyk, and Sgt. Martin Jedrzejewski.
