Mauro Sworn-In as Fanwood's Newest Officer

Amid smiles, applause and plenty of camera flashes, Mayor Colleen Mahr administered the police oath of office to Nicholas Mauro, 23, at the Borough Council's meeting Tuesday night, inducting the new officer into the Fanwood Police Department. 

Mauro was officially sworn-in Aug. 3, during a small ceremony that involved his parents, uncle, Mayor Mahr and Acting Chief Richard Trigo. Since then, he has patrolled Fanwood with the department's training officers and studied the borough's policies, ordinances and procedures. 

Compared to last month's private ceremony, the audience for Tuesday night's public ceremony was considerably larger. Family and friends filled the gallery, and uniformed Fanwood officers stood against the rear wall the Borough chambers. 

"He has brought with him a small army that he calls his family," Mahr said, with a smile. Standing before a video camera for Fanwood's Channel 35, she introduced Mauro before administering the oath.

"He's 23-years-old and single," she joked, giving Mauro a pat on the back and eliciting laughter from the meeting's attendees. But, prompted by a member of the gallery, she quickly made a correction. "Oh, he's got a girlfriend." 

The mayor commended Mauro for joining the borough's police department, and she praised his performance on patrol so far. "I think you're going to have a nice long career here," she said. 

Turning from the podium, she invited Mauro's parents and uncle to the front of the chambers. As his parents held the bible, he raised his right hand and recited the oath, repeating each phrase after Mahr.

"I, Nicholas Mauro, do solemnly swear –" and, with a subtle tap from the mayor, quickly placing his left hand on the bible – "that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people."

Members of the gallery and council clapped after Mauro finished the oath. A couple attendees cheered. Mauro's uncle, a retired officer from Hillside, then pinned the badge on Mauro's chest.

Following the ceremony, Acting Chief Richard Trigo thanked council members for hiring a new officer. "Thank you for supporting the department," he said, later adding, "May I take the army now, Mayor?"

As Mauro's family and friends filed from the Council chambers, he and Trigo walked to the rear of the room. Mauro rejoined his coworkers and supervisors, his blue uniform perhaps crisper than the others', his silver badge certainly shinier. He shook hands and exchanged hugs with the friends and family as they walked past, but he and the other officers, those who will now oversee his development as an officer, were among the last to leave. Starting the next morning, and in the days, months and years ahead, Mauro will now most easily be found in Fanwood, patrolling the borough.