JASON WILLIAMS
WESTFIELD – The roster of full-time police officers was only very briefly diminished when the Westfield Police Commission accepted the resignation of Officer Thomas Cusack at their recent meeting and immediately appointed reserve officer Jason Williams to full time status.
Cusack resigned his position with the city department to start working for the State Police.
The commissioners considered three reserve officers – Williams, Elijah Wolfe and Andrew Vega.
The commissioners had interviewed the reserve officers in depth in July when they were considered for earlier openings and the commissioners had determined that all three of the candidates were satisfactory applicants for the force.
“You’re all number one as far as we’re concerned” said commission chairman Karl W. Hupfer in July when he assured the reserve officers that they still have a future with the department.
The candidates considered have been training since their appointment as reserve officers and Williams and Wolfe had completed the part-time police academy and have been eligible to work on the streets with field training officers as needed. Vega only recently completed the part-time academy and is now eligible to work shifts with training officers.
The commissioners declared that any of the three would be acceptable for the position and chose the top candidate on the civil service list, Williams.
Williams reminded the commissioners that he is a 2006 Westfield High School graduate and continued his education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he earned a BS degree in Civil Engineering. He said for the past two years he has worked for a local general contractor.
When queried by Hupfer about the apparent incongruity in his education, Williams said “I always had an interest in law enforcement my entire life” but said he always said “get your degree, you can always go into something else.”
Williams said that he completed the part-time police academy in the fall of 2012 and started his field training with the Westfield department in March.
He said that his goal as a police officer would be to become qualified and work as a detective.
The commissioners voted unanimously to hire Williams with an appointment date on the first day of the next class at the Municipal Police Training Academy which is expected to begin Feb. 4.
Police Chief John Camerota reiterated that the disappointed candidates can still expect a police career as there will be upcoming openings.
“Your day is coming” he told them.
