SHOUT OUT: Officer Bernadette Yates, who’s worked both in Newark and with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, is Elmwood Park’s newest police officer.
Yates was hired under the inter-governmental transfer program, coming from Middlesex after two years as Newark police officer, Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
Foligno noted that Yates the department’s second female hire and second African-American.
“In an attempt to diversify our police force we have hired four minority officers in the past two years — two are Hispanic and two African-American,” the chief told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “It important: We must reflect and represent the diverse community that we serve.”
Although the hiring brings the department to a total of 40 officers, it’s still a half-dozen shy of the 2008 total, he noted.
