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Woodland Park Police teach children about law enforcement at birthday party
By Lindsey Kelleher, The Record
Original article HERE
In the movie “Zootopia,” Judy Hopps works hard in the police academy and is the first female bunny to become a police officer. Like Judy Hopps, 7-year-old Malia Valdez hopes to be a cop one day.
Malia has watched the movie over and over again with her younger sister Nalia, 3, especially on days off from school.
So when Malia turned 7 last month, her mom hosted a police-themed birthday party. The guests were not fictional characters, but real-life police officers, some of Woodland Park’s finest, who stopped by to talk about police work and hand out goodies.
“They were here for a while. They hung out, and asked the kids if they had any questions,” said Angie Valdez, Malia’s mother. “It was sweet.”
There alongside Malia’s young friends were Capt. Eileen Tiernan, Sgt. Erik Luker, Sgt. Michael Brady and Officer Omaira Carino. Woodland Park Mayor Keith Kazmark also attended the party, which was held at the Valdezes’ home.
The children received small, plush penguins wearing Woodland Park PBA T-shirts and police badge stickers. Angie gave the children police badge pins. The officers also gave Malia a birthday card from Woodland Park Police Chief Anthony Galietti.
The police-themed birthday party was the first event of its type that borough officers have attended, but not the first time the department has participated in community outreach programs.
Last year, Galietti started a Coffee with a Cop program in the borough. The nationwide program brings residents and police officers together to discuss issues in the community. So far, the department held two such events and plans more in the future.
“His goal is to broaden Coffee with a Cop to a larger community outreach program where all of our officers will be involved in some sort of capacity,” said Detective Lt. John Uzzalino.
Uzzalino said Coffee with a Cop is a way for officers to learn about needs in the community and what the department is capable of achieving. It’s also a way to polish the image of police officers.
The chief “wanted to change the public perception of the law enforcement community, with all of the negative publicity the law enforcement community has endured over the past several years,” Uzzalino said.
Angie Valdez says Malia had an interest in police work even before “Zootopia” came out. “It’s always been a thing in our house,” she said.
Angie herself wanted to be an officer when she was growing up. She attended the police academy before her daughters were born.
For now, Malia is active in the community through sports and community service; she and her mom have started a program for donating school supplies to children in the Dominican Republic.
But when she gets older, Malia hopes to attend the Passaic County Junior Police Academy, a one-week program at the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office in Wayne for children ages 11 through 14. The children go through some training and learn about the various areas of law enforcement.
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