On Monday the Gloucester Township Police Department will swear in it's youngest member of the force -- a 6-year-old boy who attends kindergarten in town.

486376237
(gemenacom, ThinkStock)
loading...

The child, whose name won't be released until after he becomes an "official" honorary member of the department, is battling a serious illness, according to police, and his dream is to enter law enforcement some day.

"The Gloucester Township Police Department wants to help fulfill his dreams of becoming a police officer," police wrote in a brief announcement Sunday.

According to GTPD Lt. Brendan Barton, the young boy was discovered by one of the department's School Resource Officers.

"We have a great partnership with our schools. We have three elementary and middle school SROs who visit the schools daily," Barton told NJ 101.5 on Sunday. "One of our SROs heard about a kindergarten student who loves law enforcement. We spoke with his mom and set up this meeting tomorrow."

Although Barton couldn't disclose the exact nature of the child's illness, he said it's been a lengthy battle and has required a lot of treatment.

The honorary officer will be sworn in at 1 p.m. by Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer and Police Chief Harry Earle. Barton said he'll be presented with a "police shirt and hat with patches on them" from the department.

Immediately after the swearing in ceremony, this new officer will be put to work. Barton said he'll head out with police officers to "conduct motor vehicle stops, assist a police K-9, and ride with our Special Response Team (SWAT) in an armored rescue vehicle."

"This should be an awesome event for him and his family," Barton said "We meet so many people in our lives and everyone deserves a special day they will always remember."

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor for news at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM