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Lt. Josh Wisse spent six months finding a large number of highly qualified applicants, Police Chief Sean Schiedle said.
Following what the chief called an “exhaustive” interview and selection process, the department hired three probationary police officers – all of whom have names who were sworn in by Municipal Judge Michael Garrett:
Born and raised in Ramsey, Officer Kyle Fanning played football and baseball at Ramsey High School before going on to play four years of football at William Paterson University, where he was team captain his senior year.
Fanning earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice, with a double minor in psychology and sociology. He was hired by New Jersey State Police in November 2020 and after graduation from its police academy served at the NJSP Netcong station.
Officer Matthew Lanza was born and raised in Bergen County and was graduated from River Dell Regional High School, where he was a three-year varsity athlete in football, track and lacrosse – and was name first team all-league in football in 2015.
Lanza received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Rowan University, where he was named to the Dean’s List and was the philanthropy executive chair for Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
He was graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy as the overall second-ranked candidate in his class this past October and received the academy’s physical training award.
Officer Stephen Koller grew up in Midland Park, where he went to high school and was a standout varsity baseball player all four years – and team captain his junior and senior years, when he received all-league awards.
Koller worked received his bachelor’s degree from Bergen Community College, was hired by the Hackensack Police Department as a Class II police officer and graduated from the Passaic County Police Academy, where he served as a platoon leader.
The swearing-in ceremony also saw the official promotion of new Sgt. Christopher Yoo.
Yoo grew up in town, attended Pascack Valley High School and received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.
He began his law enforcement career with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, then worked for the Fairfield Police Department before transferring to River Vale in November 2017.
Yoo has worked a field training officer, a L.E.A.D (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) instructor, a car seat technician, coordinator of River Vale School Guards and a radar instructor.
He’s also been a detective on special assignment with the New Jersey State Police Motor Vehicle Crimes North Unit in Newark.
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