The Hammonton Gazette 04/27/22 Edition | Page 5

INTERVIEW
Page 4 • Wednesday , April 27 , 2022 • The Hammonton Gazette

Local man Slimm reflects on nearly 30 years on HPD

SLIMM , from Page 1 the HPD for nearly three decades .
“ I went into the academy in August 1994 . I retired on December 31 , 2021 . It was 27 years , five months ,” Slimm , 53 , said .
Growing up , Slimm spent all but about seven years of his life in Hammonton . He said he lived on Valley Avenue in the 1970s , on Vine Street and , on top of the Bull ’ s Horn Inn ( now Rocco ’ s Town House ) later moving to

The Gazette

INTERVIEW

Tilton Street in 1981 . As a young adult , he lived in other places , he said .
“ I always found my way back here ,” Slimm said .
His mother , Evelyn Cassidy , served the town as a crossing guard , “ forever ” he said and was an influence on his decision to become a police officer .
“ I had two courses that I wanted to go : Either an art teacher or a police officer . When I was young , I had to go to speech classes because I couldn ’ t say the letter ‘ s ’ properly . They used [ the word ] German Shepherds to help teach me how to say it , and I always associated them with police ,” Slimm said .
A visit by a state trooper during a career day at the local schools also had a profound influence on him when he was younger .
“ Police was a stronger pull than art ,” Slimm said .
Assisting others in need was one of the best parts of being a police officer , particularly in his hometown . “ I ’ ve always been one to help people ,” he said .
According to Slimm , there are pros and cons to being a member of the police department in your hometown .
“ The pros are you know everybody , and the cons are you know everybody . But the pros far outweigh the cons because if you ever need anything in this town , people will help you because everybody knows everybody . People in this town are very supportive of the police department ,” Slimm said , citing a fundraiser for Det . Peter Hagerty and other examples .
“ There is a lot of respect . It ’ s a tightknit community . We have a great department . The men and women are all professional ,” he said .
While rising through the ranks from officer ( patrolman ) in 1994 , to sergeant in 2009 to patrol sergeant in 2012 , to the detective bureau in 2012 ( in charge until 2019 ) to lieutenant in 2019 , Slimm served in many capacities at the HPD , including Internal Affairs ( IA ).
He recalled the work involved with being a detective , including going to the Atlantic County Prosecutor ’ s Office at 3 a . m . on occasion for a search warrant when needed . He said he enjoyed being actively involved in police work .
“ I was never one to sit at the desk working — I ’ d rather be out with the guys after I did my administrative stuff ,” Slimm said .
He referenced many of the fellow officers he served with who were influences on him during his career , including Chief Kevin Friel , Chief Robert Jones , Captain Mark Fiorentino , Lt . Sean Locantore , Lt . Steven Zoyac , Det . Joel Frederico , Sgt . Angel Mojica and Sgt . Tim Ruggeri .
He cited Frederico as an influence during his time as a member of the detective bureau .
“ He had great interview skills ,”
Courtesy Photos
Above : Slimm and his son when he was younger . Left : Slimm and Sgt . Angel Mojica on the job .
he said .
“ We used to be in the basement ,
During his long tenure in the and water would come in through HPD , Slimm saw the physical the windows . We would have to changes to the department , including a fleet of new vehicles and , changed , because of the water on
stand on benches when we got perhaps most importantly , an entirely new police department in the ment made it more conducive to
the floor . The new police depart-
new town hall at Central Avenue being able to do your job , not having to deal with mold or water and Vine Street , which opened in 2008 .
See OFFICER , Page 12