Six new police officers, sworn in two weeks ago, are preparing to take on the ever-increasing challenges of police work in Princeton 2016.

From a pool of more than 800 applicants, the officers passed a written exam, a physical exam, two panel reviews, an intensive background investigation, and two additional interviews.

Princeton Police Chief Nicholas Sutter described the search for “a diverse pool of candidates who possess intelligence, integrity, empathy, strong communication skills, and physical fitness.”

The number of officers in the Princeton Police Department (PPD) will remain at 52, with the new recruits taking the place of retirees over the past few years. 

The new officers include two with police experience: Eric Dawson, former Burlington County sheriff and Mansfield Township police officer, and Daniel Ehnstrom, former Mansfield police sergeant.

The other new officers are Toni Mahotiere, who will be Princeton’s first African-American female officer; Jonathan Myzie, who served as Princeton police dispatcher over the past eight and a half years; Alex Kaufman, a Southern New Hampshire University graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice; and Andre Lee, former officer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The two experienced officers will go directly to field training with an experienced officer certified as a Field Training Officer, for a period of three or four months until they are ready to patrol alone. The four other officers will go to basic training at the Mercer County Police Academy for approximately six months, then to work with a certified Field Training Officer for another three or four months before assuming full responsibilities by early next fall.

Mr. Sutter described the six as “a very strong group” with many “different qualities and strengths that will benefit us.”