By PETE WALTON
Three new patrolmen have been sworn in to the Neptune City police force.
Public Safety Director Edward Kirschenbaum said that more than 100 candidates applied for the positions. Forty were interviewed before six finalists were chosen.
Patrolman Zachary Campbell is a graduate of Manasquan High School and holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Delaware.
Before coming to Neptune City, Campbell worked as a special officer and dispatcher in Belmar, where his grandfather, Ken Berger, served as a police sergeant, and his brother Michael is a detective lieutenant. His father Michael retired as a lieutenant in the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Patrolman Matthew Holtz is a graduate of Freehold High School and currently attends Brookdale Community College. Holtz enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2013. He served in Okinawa, Japan for two years and completed his tour in California. Holtz and his wife Lauren have a two-year-old daughter, Mackenzie.
Patrolman Damien Broschart is a graduate of Howell High School, Brookdale and New Jersey City University. He interned in Howell and Neptune City before becoming a special officer in Belmar. In 2016, Broschart was hired as a patrolman in Asbury Park, where he will work until completing his commitment there on July 18.
The new officers were sworn in by Mayor Robert J. Brown at a ceremony earlier this week during a special meeting of the Neptune City Borough Council.
Also at the cereminy, Patrolmen Michael Vollbrecht and Mark Mazzeo were promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, a former borough mayor, congratulated the new sergeants and welcomed the new police officers.
Kirschenbaum thanked Brown and the council for dealing with pending retirements from the department by making sure that new officers could be added to the force.
The council will hold regular meetings on July 9 and Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. before returning to its regular schedule on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
The mayor has announced that the Neptune City Community Picnic and Neptune City 5k race will take place Aug. 4.
