Police officer will head for Iraq

MANALAPAN - Patrolman Jonathan "Herc" Suydam will be absent from duty with the Manalapan Police Department while he is deployed to Iraq for an extended period of time with his Army National Guard Unit.

The exact date of Suydam's departure and return are uncertain, according to a press release issued by Manalapan police Capt. Lou Moreto. The press release only states that Suydam's deployment is imminent.

Suydam, who is the married father of two sons, is a 17-year veteran of the department who has served for the past seven years as the School Resource Officer at Manalapan High School.

According to Moreto, Suydam was instrumental in developing the Law Enforcement Public Safety Program at the high school and also taught classes.

Moreto said the other members of the police department, "understanding the stress of leaving his family for an extended length of time and respecting the mission that Patrolman Suydam will be going on, selflessly sacrificed time with their own families and donated their vacation time to Patrolman Suydam so that he could spend the summer with his family prior to being deployed."

Moreto said the manager of the Manalapan Best Buy store, Roman Zielonka, donated a digital camera for Suydam to take to Iraq so that he may send pictures to his family while he is overseas.

In addition, the police department donated a laptop computer in order to give Suydam the ability to communicate with his family and friends.

According to Moreto, another honor that will be afforded Suydam by his fellow officers will be the display of a decal featuring a ribbon and the number 73, Suydam's badge number, on all Manalapan police cars until the officer's safe return home.