A contingent of our Department was recently honored to present Dr. Caesar DePaço and his wife, Deanna Padovani-DePaço, with a small token of our appreciation for their extraordinary generosity in donating our latest canine officer, Pelo. Although Pelo has already been hard at work with his partner, Officer Ryan Osmola, for well over a year, COVID restrictions foiled earlier attempts to personally thank the DePaço family. The shadowbox honoring Dr. & Mrs. DePaço included our K9 Unit patch as well as the actual lead Pelo used during his academy training.
Chief Newkirk made the presentation and during his speech called attention to the DePaço’s far-reaching impact—notably, Pelo’s recent track of the two assailants who attempted to carjack an employee of Rastelli’s Market, rendering the victim with a near-fatal wound. Officer Osmola and K9 Pelo’s efforts were critical in identifying the accused subjects who were later apprehended, charged, and are now awaiting justice.
The philanthropic work, generosity, and commitment to law enforcement of the DePaço’s cannot be overstated. Some 140+ canines alone have been donated to law enforcement agencies across the US and Europe by the DePaço’s—this is in addition to the already innumerable amount of equipment gifted to as many agencies. We are both humbled and honored to have been one of the many recipients of the DePaço family’s extreme generosity. We thank Mayor & Council for their continued support of our K9 program and are truly blessed to have such an extraordinary benefactor right here in our own backyard of New Jersey.
Thank you, Deanna and Caesar!
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