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The Asbury Park Police Department will swear in four new officers next week.

Three of the city’s Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers, Jayvon Britt, Jonathan DiOrio and Lemar Whittaker, will be sworn in along side Officer Ricky Kirchgessner, who previously served the city in a class II position before he transferred to Camden County in 2013 to become a certified regular police officer, according to Asbury Park Chief Mark Kinmon.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in City Council chambers.

Britt and DiOrio have both served the city for just under a year and Whittaker for three, he said.

“We have the added benefit of their familiarity with the city and the department,” Kinmon said. “They don’t need a real lengthy field training program and can step right into the role of police officer.”

Kinmon said Britz and DiOrio will attend a shortened training program rather than full police academy training as their certification as class II officers falls within the state mandated three year time frame. Whittaker must attend the full academy and Kirchgessner, the only fully certified officer, will go through a field training period and be updated on the departments policies, procedures and standards, and have to pass a separate evaluation, Kinmon said.

“Everything is in motion here with these four new officers, although it’s a little piecemeal,” Kinmon said.

Salaries for the four officers run between $32,000 and $39,000, which will be paid for over the next three years by a $625,000 Community Oriented Policing Services [COPS] grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office last September.

The city has state approval to hire an additional two officers, Kinmon said. One will be paid through the grant funds but the other is a replacement officer and those funds must come from the city’s payroll, he said.

Kinmon expects the two remaining officers will be hired later this year, he said.

The six new additions will bring the department’s total count to 89 officers, excluding Kinmon, who will officially retire September 1 but will begin to use accumulated leave time from the department Friday.

Deputy Chief Anthony Salerno will head up the department until the incoming members of City Council, who will be sworn in on January 1 following the November election, choose Kinmon’s successor, City Manager John “Jack” Kelly said at the July 16 council meeting.

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