Somerset Borough Police promote two to sergeant
AMBER ROSADO Daily American Staff Writer, Daily American
9:14 PM EDT, June 26, 2013
Somerset Borough Officers Richard Appel and Stephen Borosky were sworn-in
as sergeants by Mayor William Meyer during Monday night’s Somerset Borough
Council meeting. There were four officers who took the sergeant test, with two passing.
(Staff photo by Amber Rosado / June 26, 2013)
The Somerset Borough Police Department promoted two officers to sergeants on Monday night.
Richard Appel and Stephen Borosky were appointed to the rank by Somerset Borough Council.
The men were previously officers in charge. Cox said the officers will now take a greater role in the operational side of the department.
Police Chief Randy Cox said he is thankful to the borough council for creating these positions within the police department. The promotion did not come with a pay increase.
He said the police department has been working hard for years trying to get sergeant positions.
“It will be a benefit to the department to have more than one person in charge,” Cox said. He said the officers will continue with their regular obligations. Appel works in investigations and Borosky works as an administrations manager.
Applicants from within the department are eligible to take the written examination and those that pass are eligible to proceed to an oral examination. “The written exam is notoriously difficult, there is a very low passing rate nationwide,” Cox said. Appel and Borosky earned eligibility to take the oral examination conducted by a board of law enforcement executives from outside of Somerset County. When the results were tabulated, the two new sergeants’ scores were only separated by three tenths of one percent.
Appel said the test was the most difficult and challenging civil service test. In preparation for the test, officers study college-level textbooks filled with various situations that could be encountered, statute and criminal law, police operations and community dynamics.
“I feel like my studying was the sum of my experience for the last 15 years,” Appel said.
Appel said if an officer wants to become a sergeant, they need to take every opportunity presented to train and to grow.
“Training and education are vital, if you see any opportunity that will help you grow don’t turn it down,” he said.