For the first time in a long time Thursday morning, the officers of the now-defunct Bergen County Police Department stood before the county sheriff with smiles on their faces.
The 37 men and women arranged themselves in neat rows near the steps of the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack and echoed back the oath of office to Sheriff Anthony Cureton as he read it aloud.
And just like that, they officially became sheriff s officers. And the years of administrative battles and legal broadsides between the county police and the Sheriff s Office were over. This is a moment of celebration, Cureton told the crowd of officers, county officials and family members. Let s move forward.