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There was little fanfare Monday morning as the newest member of the Asbury Park Police Department was sworn into duty, but it was a lifelong dream realized but city natives and longtime municipal employees Cassandra Dickerson and Leesha Floyd attended the swearing in ceremony as a show of support.

From the age of 5 or 6, Johnson Pierre, now 18, has had but one goal — to become a police officer.

“It’s something that I always wanted to do,” the city native said. “I like that they help people.”

The eldest of three siblings, Pierre is a Haitian American who knows all too well the discourse surrounding his vocation, and in spite of initial reservations from family and friends, he pushed forth with his dream.

He said his mother began having the conversation about being respectful during any encounter with law enforcement [or anyone else for that matter] at an early age.

“When I started elementary school she started talking to me when I started taking the bus and walking [by myself],” he said. “She said be relaxed and calm and just do the right thing. I always grew up to liking everybody, no matter what color they are, what shape, I always made friends with everybody.”

Pierre is a recent Asbury Park High School graduate and among the first to participate in the district’s Law and Public Safety vocational program, one of three Career Academies that are a part of the district’s College and Career Readiness Institute. Aside from his high school and career readiness work, Pierre was a ranking member school’s wrestling and soccer teams.

“We developed this component for students who, for whatever reason, college is not an option for them,” Superintendent Sancha Gray said. “Students start in their freshman year on a career path and we work to provide every opportunity and exposure that we can along the way.”

For Pierre, that meant spending half of his day studying everything from morals and ethics and issuing summons to unarmed self defense, handcuffing and baton training at the Monmouth County Police Academy in Freehold, Asbury Park Police Department Spokesman Sgt. Michael Casey said.

Today, Pierre said his goal is to become a member of the local police department’s narcotics and crime unit.

“That is where the largest problem is in Asbury Park,” he said. I want to do this to show my brother and sisters and the people that I grew up with that it’s not a bad job. I want to work for this town because I grew up in this town. I want people to see that it doesn’t matter what color you are, where you are from, you can always do something positive in this world and I want to be able to show everyone that.”

Casey said Pierre was hired as a Class I officer, meaning he will be paid $12 an hour, working full time through the summer season and 20 hours during the off peak season. Next on his career path will be taking the civil service test, which will allow him to be considered for one of the ten spots open for the 8-week Class II training and landing on a list of city residents first considered for full time employment. 

“The same reasons that he wanted the job, are the same reasons we wanted to hire him,” said Casey, who also expressed hope that more locals will be hired through the district run program.

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