Letter: WCPD Go Above and Beyond

I was visiting my parents on Tuesday over on Holiday Drive in West Caldwell to check on them, and to see how their home had weathered the storm. There was a tree down on Liddy Place in West Caldwell yesterday after the storm. This is just up the street from my parents’ house. A few neighbors were surveying the damage, so my mother and I walked over. 

As we were checking things out, a camouflage Hummer pulled up, and out jumped a pair of West Caldwell police officers. One of them grabbed a chainsaw and fired it up, setting to the work of clearing the trees that were blocking the road.

It was obvious that the one with the chainsaw knew what he was doing.  He was careful making cuts so the pieces weren’t too big to move, and he didn’t jam the saw once (I have used a chainsaw before, it is difficult for an amateur to clear something like this without getting the saw stuck). 

A few neighbors and I helped them clear the cut up tree segments from the streets. Once a path was clear enough to allow emergency vehicles through, or the residents stuck on the cul-de-sac to get out, they left to clear more roads (I would assume). 

I have lived in West Caldwell for over 35 years. Never, and I mean never, have I been so impressed with the work that our police force does as I was that day.  Sadly, I did not get the two officer’s names…but I have attached a pair of pictures I took between dragging brush from the street.  

Before they got back in their truck and left, I mentioned to them that I never knew cutting down trees and clearing debris was the job of the police department. One of them told me that they used to work for a tree service company, so they know what they are doing when it comes to clearing trees.  They are only clearing trees that are not tangled up in power lines or similar issues.

This is the kind of story people should hear about…

Ron Goltsch, West Caldwell