Ray of Light
Cranford Police Explorer Raymond Schwartz leaves behind
a legacy of ‘dignity, loyalty, faith and respect’
■ BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
Police youth academy instructors of-
ten find that keeping high school kids
awake during meetings is part of the
job description. Yet every so often, a kid
comes through who is so engaged and
attentive and dedicated that instructors
find themselves envisioning that student
as a future colleague. For Cranford De-
tective Steven D’Ambola, lead instructor
of the department’s youth academy and
adviser for its Police Explorers program,
that student was Raymond Schwartz.
“He really would have made a great of-
ficer,” D’Ambola reflects about Schwartz,
the 15-year-old who passed away on
Feb. 12 following a 15-month battle with
glioblastoma, a very rare form of brain
cancer. “More than anything, he was so
vibrant and excited to be part of the pro-
gram. He would always be so eager to
participate, answer and ask questions…
just very proud to be ‘Recruit Schwartz.’”
Recruit Schwartz’s law enforcement
career began during sixth grade, when
he started showing an interest in the po-
lice and joined Cranford’s youth acade-
my.
“He absolutely loved it,” affirms Stacy
Schwartz, Raymond’s mom. “He loved
what they did – when the SWAT truck
came, learning water rescue, going on
ride-alongs every Friday night – he loved
the excitement of it. The officers made
an impression on Raymond, and he was
46
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
getting a lot out of it; he was becoming
more mature.”
And it’s safe to say the program got a
lot out of Ray as well.
“He was a natural born leader,” Cran-
ford Local 52 State Delegate Daniel Nor-
ton states. “Great kid, good student, well
respected by teachers and peers.”
Summer after summer, Raymond was
committed to the youth academy and
the Explorers program. But when Ray-
mond was diagnosed in December 2017,
his participation in the upcoming sum-
mer’s course looked doubtful.
“He had just started radiation and was
down in the dumps, not sure if he could
come back,” Local 52 member John Rat-
tigan recalls. “All he wanted to do was
get better and strong enough to do the
youth academy. I realized he was a spe-
cial kid.”
Ray had four operations during his
treatment, and after awaking from each
one, the first thing he would say was,
“Can I go back to the academy?”
Following up on that, Rattigan ap-
proached Cranford Chief Ryan Greco
and suggested that the department
do something special for Ray. With the
chief’s approval, he and D’Ambola co-
ordinated efforts to make Ray, an honor-
ary Cranford officer. During a township
meeting in May 2018, Greco and Cran-
ford Mayor Thomas Hannen Jr. swore in
Ray who was proudly wearing the new
Class A uniform that the department
had made for him.
“It was a very special day for all of us
when they made him an honorary police
officer,” Stacy shares. “The department
has been wonderful from day one; they
have all gone above and beyond for us.”
When summer arrived, Ray was still in
treatment and, as predicted, unable to
participate as a recruit.
“So we made him an honorary drill in-
structor,” Rattigan explains. “He had to
go home sometimes due to the heat, but
he always came back the next day.”
Even after the summer session con-
cluded, Rattigan maintained weekly
communication with Ray’s family, track-
ing his appointments and treatment.
Ray’s health started to improve and he
began high school. But in late January,
his health unfortunately began to dete-
riorate. Ray’s parents informed the de-