Manchester Police swear-in Pinelands Regional graduate to patrol

Manchester Police have added a new member to their department announcing the swearing-in and promotion Tuesday of Sage Sysol from SEO Class II to Patrolman.

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Sysol was surrounded by Chief Lisa Parker, police personnel, family and friends Tuesday as Mayor Ken Palmer led the ceremony.

The 2015 graduate of Pinelands Regional High School later earned an Associate’s Degree at Ocean County College and is currently working toward his Bachelor’s Degree through Kean University.

He has some experience in a couple parts of the county to date, with stops as an SLEO I in Seaside Heights and SLEO II in Little Egg Harbor before coming to Manchester Township in January of 2021.

It was at that point that Sysol went through the departments twelve week Field Training and Evaluation Program where he learned under a number of highly trained and seasoned officers, Chief Parker said.

“Ptl. Sysol comes from a proud law enforcement family, which includes his father, uncle, aunt and brother,” Chief Parker said in a statement. “He values that legacy of public service and helping others, which makes him an ideal addition to our department. We wish Ptl. Sysol all the best as he begins the next chapter of his law enforcement career here in Manchester Township."

Manchester Police began a hiring process in June and July of 2019 starting with a physical agility test followed by a written test and oral evaluation.

"It's to put them under stress and we have some of the officers yelling and creating an atmosphere of stress for the candidates," Chief Lisa Parker told Townsquare Media News in 2019. "We do that because we want to see how they're going to respond. Can they physically work under stressful situations? It's stressful at times and you need to physically be able to perform under stress."

125 people submitted applications, only 70 completed/passed the physical portion.

For the physical training test applicants must complete and pass timed pull ups, push-ups and sit-ups before they hit the track to run a mile.

If they reach a minimum of 200 points, they box for about a minute, which is meant to further test an applicants ability in real life situations.

"You fight whoever the next person in line is, we don't get to pick on the street if the person is big, tall, short, male, female...it doesn't matter so you have to be able to perform under stress and protect yourself and others," Parker said.

If they make it through the physical test, they're given a study guide for the written exam which is followed by the oral exam where Chief Parker looks for signs of character and integrity.

"As police officers we're going into peoples houses when they're most vulnerable, I want to know that there could be a million dollars sitting on the table and that not one officer will touch it," Parker said.

Once a candidate passes all the tests and is hired in Manchester, there is on the job training and another round of tests to pass as well.

"Once you're hired you go into a 12-week training process and for the first year you're really under a lot of scrutiny to make sure that you can perform and assimilate to a lifetime of policing," Parker said. "If they make it past that one year, they're always assigned to patrol."

From patrol, you can rise up the ranks over the years that follow to a number of positions including Detective, K9 Unit and Traffic Safety Officer.

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