Blue Friday honors Long Branch officer after 30 years of service

Thirty years ago in 1995, Julio Delacruz joined the Long Branch police force, beginning a journey of public service, sacrifice and commitment to his fellow citizens in the Monmouth County community.

Although we don't often dedicate Blue Friday to retired police officers, Corporal Delacruz deserves recognition and praise for his decades of service.

A 30-year career with the Long Branch Police Department

On December 31st, Corporal Julio Delacruz retired from the Long Branch Police Department, wrapping up a distinguished career that spanned service in patrol, community policing, and several major incidents across the city.

Delacruz started with the Long Branch Police Department as a Class II Special Police Officer in 1995 before being hired as a patrolman in 1997.

During his career, he served in both the Patrol Division and the Community Policing Unit, where he was assigned in 2022.

Commendations earned through courage

Over the course of the last 30 years, Delacruz received multiple commendations:

In 2006, he was awarded an Honorable Service citation for disarming a young man threatening suicide with a knife.

In 2018, he received another Honorable Service citation following a vehicle stop that led to the seizure of two handguns and a quantity of drugs

He was also recognized with several Unit Citations, including the swift apprehension of a bank robbery suspect in 2025.

Service beyond the badge

Along with serving his community, Corporal Delacruz served in the Motorcycle Unit, and was a part of the Police Athletic Club.

In 2017, he rode in the Police Unity Tour to Washington, D.C., and later that year was part of a Monmouth County law enforcement team that spent two weeks in Puerto Rico assisting with hurricane relief efforts.

In a Facebook post by The Long Brand PD honoring Delacruz on his retirement, every comment under the post had nothing but great things to say about the Corporal, including one that said:

"By far the coolest cop I ever met. Helped change my life as a young man. Thank u for that!"

Congratulations to Corporal Julio Delacruz for three decades of service, and actively making his community a better place every day.

Enjoy the retirement, and we hope you're staying with us and diggin' in.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

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