Woodland Park Police Department Swears in Three New Officers

WOODLAND PARK, NJ – The Woodland Park Borough Council at its Sept. 5 meeting swore in two new police officers, Justin Castro and Marc Bonilla, as well as its new Special III Police Officer, Brian Newman, who is assigned to the Woodland Park Public Schools.

Bonilla, 24, is a lifelong resident of Woodland Park. He graduated Passaic Valley Regional High School and Rowan University. Bonilla worked in the Passaic County Court System before being hired by Woodland Park Police. He will be attending the police academy starting Sept. 13 and is expected to join the force in about six months. 

Castro, 21, is a Woodland Park resident and graduate of Passaic Valley Regional High School in 2015. He served an internship with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and graduated the Passaic County Police Academy earlier this year. He was employed with the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department before joining the force.

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Newman retired from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department in 2015 after 28 years and also worked for the Paramus School District. Newman is the Borough’s second special police officer. Two years ago, the Borough Council and Board of Education joined together for a shared service agreement to provide a police officer for the local schools. William Gilhooley has been serving as Special Police Officer since that time, splitting his time among the three schools.

Mayor Keith Kazmark said that Gilhooley and Newman will both work to keep the students safe, to keep traffic moving safely around Borough school, do security checks in the school buildings as well as follow up on residency concerns.