At the June 16, 2016 Mayor & Council meeting, Sergeant David Pitts was formally sworn in as a Lieutenant of the Roselle Park Police Department.
Filling the position left vacant by the retirement of Lt. Ted Dima, Sgt. Pitts – with his family at his side – was sworn in by Mayor Carl Hokanson.
After being sworn in, Police Chief Paul Morrison praised his new lieutenant, saying, “I could stand here probably for two hours and recite his qualifications and his knowledge of the law enforcement field.”
Chief Morrison recounted how Lt. Pitts has served the Roselle Park community for two decades. He was 12 years in the patrol division followed by two years in the detective bureau. Lt. Pitts then served in the patrol division as a patrol sergeant.
The chief further stated, “When I first spoke to Dave and told him everything had been approved for his promotion one of the first things he said was ‘Wow, I have some big shoes to fill.’ meaning Lt. Dima’s shoes. Well, I have all the confidence that Dave’s fit are going to fit just fine into those shoes and Lt. Pitts is going to do an outstanding job just as he has for the past 20 years here in Roselle Park. He’s dedicated to this town, he’s dedicated to the profession of law enforcement and he’s just an absolute outstanding leader. I’m lucky to have a great staff of other patrol sergeants pulling Dave up and moving him up to the rank of lieutenant. I know he’ll be well-respected as I know he always has been. Dave, I wish you continued success as a lieutenant in the Roselle Park Police Department.”
Lt. Pitts commented on his promotion, “I would just like to thank Mayor Hokanson, Chief Paul Morrison, [and] Captain Daniel McCaffery for their continued support. I’d like to thank all the officers that I’ve worked with over my 20 year career. There’s a lot of fine officers in Roselle Park. Most importantly, I’d like to thank the officers that I’ve worked with the last five or six years that I’ve been a supervisor. It was their hard work that made me look competent enough to assume this new role. I appreciate their efforts. Thank you so much.”