Two Special II Officers Hired to Patrol Manalapan Schools

The Manalapan Township Committee approved the hiring of two new Special II Police Officers who will focus their attention on Manalapan-Englishtown schools in light of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

Christopher Makwinski and Christopher Oleksy will join the Manalapan Township Police Department as part-time Special II Officers. In addition to the usual Special II duties, Makwinski and Oleksy will patrol the school properties and stop inside the school buildings periodically. They will be patrolling in highly visible marked police vehicles. Full-time police officers will also continue to include school visits while patrolling.

Township Committeeman and Police Department liaison Jordan Maskowitz explained that Special II Officers are only a few specialized training courses shy of becoming a full-time police officer. They are trained at the Monmouth County Police Academy, are authorized to carry a weapon, and have full police powers, Maskowitz said.

Members of the Township Committee and Manalapan Police Department Captain Mike Fountain met with representatives from every school in Manalapan on Thursday, Dec. 20 to discuss school safety concerns. Fountain imparted his knowledge about security protocol and helped the school representatives make sure that their safety procedures are reliable.

For parents concerned with the safety of their children, the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education is hosting a public hearing on school security on January 15, 2013 at 7 p.m. within the Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School auditorium.