Two Police Officers Promoted at Packed Ceremony in Town Hall
November 08, 2019Mayor Nicholas Sacco presided over the promotion of two police officers to supervisory ranks at a ceremony in North Bergen town hall on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. At the event Officer Alfredo Echeverria was promoted to sergeant and Roberto Ruiz was promoted to lieutenant.
The room was filled with police officers, family, friends, retired officers, and other supporters for the presentation, with Police Chief Robert Dowd and Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pascual showering praise on the two officers. Also offering their congratulations were Commissioners Hugo Cabrera, Frank Gargiulo, and Julio Marenco.
Ruiz has been with the NBPD for 14 years and has served in the patrol division, traffic unit, school resource unit, and was on loan for a time to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Gang Task Force. Echeverria, a 12-year veteran of the force, has worked as a patrolman and in community policing, and had been named officer of the month twice.
Ruiz is moving into the position vacated earlier this year by the retirement of Lt. Thomas Ferrari. His promotion opened up the position of sergeant, which is being filled by Echeverria.
Police Chief Dowd stressed that with their wealth of experience and institutional knowledge, both Ruiz and Echeverria will make strong leaders. North Bergen’s police force is relatively young, with upwards of 40 percent of the officers having been employed by the department for less than four years, making it critical that they have skilled and experienced leadership to help them learn and grow.