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Westchester police ask council to approve two hires to bring force to full strength
Summary
Police Chief Josh Lee asked council to place the conditional hire of two police officer candidates on the consent agenda so the department can meet academy deadlines and return to full staffing after roughly a year with two vacancies.
Westchester Police Chief Josh Lee told the borough council June 17 that he needs council’s approval to hire two police officer candidates so the department can return to full staffing.
Chief Lee said the borough authorized hiring to fill two vacancies earlier in the year and the police department completed a multi-stage selection process that screened about 128 applicants down to a final list. Two candidates — Gavin Storlazzi and Christopher DeBaptiste — rose to the top after written, fitness and background checks. Storlazzi recently completed the municipal police academy; DeBaptiste is eligible for academy enrollment if hired promptly.
“I need your help because I’m going to ask council to put on consent for tomorrow the hiring of two police officers,” Chief Lee said. He told council that one candidate finished the police academy last week and the other must be enrolled soon to meet academy schedules; delaying council approval would risk missing the enrollment window.
Lee described the department’s selection process, including oral, written and physical exams, background investigations and a polygraph, and stressed the department’s emphasis on “finding a good person” who can be trained to be a good officer. Council members asked about the size of the candidate pool and where candidates were lost; Chief Lee said about 128 applied, roughly 70 tested, about 40 passed the written exam, and the list narrowed through background checks to roughly a dozen before the final four.
Council discussed civil service and hiring process steps; Mayor de Baptiste and former Mayor Carolyn Kamida had both reviewed interviews for the finalists, and Kamida served as a third-party interviewer for the civil service process. The council did not adopt an ordinance or formal vote at the meeting but heard the chief’s request and moved the hires to the consent agenda to allow prompt processing.
If approved, the hires will restore the department to full staffing and allow for timely academy enrollment.
