Ocean Hires 3rd Female Officer
By DON STINE
The Ocean Township police department swore in its third female police office and promoted three other officers at the Township Council meeting Monday night.
The make-up of the police department keeps changing for the better. There is an enormous amount of talent and experience here and we welcome (new employees) on board, said Police Chief Antonio V. Amodio Jr.
Patrolwoman Alisa M. Martinez, who was formerly a Point Pleasant Beach officer, became the third female member of the police department.
Martinez, who lives in Long Branch, has a degree in criminal justice from Monmouth University and is a graduate of the Ocean County Police Academy.
Martinezs hiring comes on the heels of a recent controversy after Police Officer Sonia Henriques was denied desk duty after learning she was pregnant with her first child. She was granted a desk job after the controversy was raised by the local police union and the issue received some national attention.
The police department also promoted three officers Monday night.
Detective Sergeant Kevin Faller was promoted to lieutenant; and officers Michael Sorrentino and Gregory Tongring were promoted to sergeant.
Faller is a graduate of Brookdale Community College. He worked for the Colts Neck police department from 1984 to 1986 and then joined the Ocean Township department.
He has served as an undercover narcotics detective with the Monmouth County Narcotics Strike Force and has been assigned as a detective in the townships Criminal Investigations Bureau.
Sorrentino, who lives in Ocean Township, has a degree in criminal justice from Monmouth University and joined the Ocean Township force in 1997.
He is a member of the Oakhurst Fire Department and is one of four team leaders for the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team.
Tongring previously served with the Deal police department, with the Hudson County Prosecutors Office, and with the townships Detective Bureau. He has been on the Ocean Township force for about 7 years.
The Ocean Township police department now has 63 officers on the force.
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