26th Annual
Polar Bear
Plunge
Elizabeth offi cer’s costume
causes a ‘Sharknado’
Dun-dun.
Dun-dun.
Dun-dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun...
Typically, those notes (you know the ones) cause beach-
goers to run out of the ocean, screaming about a shark at-
tack. But during this year’s Polar Bear Plunge, one particular
shark had crowds running in the opposite direction.
“I got people looking at me, taking pictures with me. I
love it! It’s a very great environment today,” Elizabeth Local
4 member and shark-for-a-day Frankie Caruso expressed.
“This is my first Polar Bear Plunge, and I wanted to stand
out. So I went out and got this [shark costume] and I’m defi-
nitely standing out.”
Standing out and leading the way, that is.
“He’s showing the spirit,” fourth-time plunger and Local
4 member Luis Demondo recognized, as the team prepared
for the big dip. “He’s our mascot this year and he’s going in
wearing his onesie.”
Also a first-time plunger, Union County Sheriff’s Local 108
Officer Brett Byron spent his pre-plunge time psyching him-
self up.
“I’m expecting just to be super-cold, and get in, get out
and get it over with,” he predicted. “[My teammates] want
me to go under, full-fledged. And I’ll do it — for the cause.”
Perhaps Caruso’s shark costume will inspire the team to
continue to grow for next year’s plunge.
They’ll just need a bigger boat.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ MARCH 2019 61