Winslow Township Police Department breaks barriers at historic swearing-in ceremony: "It's a great feeling"
WINSLOW TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- It's a historic day in Winslow Township, New Jersey Wednesday. More than a dozen police officers will be promoted during a special swearing-in ceremony and several members of the police department will be making history.
Fifteen members of the department are being promoted.
The mayor calls this ceremony significant, historic and part of her vision.
"I'm astonished, I'm in awe, and I'm very proud of this moment," Lt. Cary Robinson said.
For the past 25 years, Robinson has been living out his dream. He's a lieutenant with the Winslow Township Police Department in Camden County helping protect and serve the community he grew up in.
"I think I always had it that I wanted to be a police officer," he said.
Robinson will be promoted to captain on Wednesday night, breaking barriers and becoming the first African American to hold that rank in the history of the police department.
Over the course of 52 years, the department has never had an African American captain.
"It's a great feeling," Robinson said. "I know that I have broken a ceiling. I've broken through one of the ceilings and I'm paving the way for other people behind me."
An inspiration to his daughter Ciara and wife Crystal who've witnessed his journey.
"I've seen my father go from detective to lieutenant and now finally captain and not only that he's making history," Ciara Robinson said. "When you see figures like my father you know you can be anything."
Lt. Suzanne Pizzico will also make history becoming the first female promoted to captain and Patrolman Dan Calabrese III will become Sgt. Calabrese.
One of the proudest moments of her 19-year career.
"It really does mean a lot to me," Pizzico said. "We have quite a few females now that work here, so I hope that I can show them that they can also rise through the ranks."
"I always wanted to be a police officer," Calabrese said. "My dad was a police officer I grew up around cops."
He was only 9 years old when his father, Patrolman Dan Calabrese Jr., became the first and only Winslow Police officer killed in the line of duty in 1994.
A memorial sits outside police headquarters.
"I know he always aspired to be a detective," Calabrese said. "I was a detective for a little while and now I'm being promoted, so I'm sure he's very happy about it."
"We need to expand the different voices at the table within the dept so all voices are heard," Mayor Marie Lawrence said.
Lawrence says one of her goals since taking office last year was to add more diversity to the police department and she calls these promotions a step in that direction.
"It's a very important day for the police department, for the township, and the community as a whole," she said.
Winslow Township swore in three new police recruits and is now fully staffed. The department's new focus is on community policing, aiming to strengthen relationships with residents.
"It helps the community gain a little more trust in the police," Lawrence said. "If you know the police and they knock at your door, you're more willing to talk to them because I saw them at an event last week."
