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A photo of Domenic Pizzanelli holding a lost dog on the River Edge PBA Local 201's Facebook page has caught the attention of thousands of women, many threatening to run red lights and rob banks just to chat with the officer.
The good news? The dog, MoMo, was returned home within hours. The bad news, at least for Bergen County hopefuls, Pizzanelli is off the market.
In fact, Pizzanelli's girlfriend of two years, Riana McShea, has been nothing but supportive of the photo.
"She knows community policing is one of my strengths," said 29-year-old Pizzanelli, a Saddle Brook native who joined the force in River Edge last July. "She's more proud than anything."
The photo of Pizzanelli was shared to the Bergen County Moms group on Facebook, where it had 150 comments as of Sunday, April 10.
"So adorable!❤️ The dog is cute too 🤣," one mom said.
"I think I'm lost too," another added.
Group founder Annie Steinberg-Joachim said the photo brought much-needed laughter to the board.
"Scrolling the comments these past two days has been a breath of fresh air," said the Westwood mom of two, who launched the 30.8K-member group in 2013.
"Everyone is so sensitive, for good reason, during the climate that we're in, where things can be misconstrued over social media.
"So to see everyone having such fun over a post meant to help out, and seeing people take it lightly — seeing moms giggle — was really fun for me."
Pizzanelli says the viral photo happened at just the right time. His department last year swore in its new chief, Michael Walker — a self-proclaimed "people's chief" who believes in community policing.
As it turns out, his officers have his six.
"Community policing is one of the main practices he preaches," Pizzanelli said. "Every day, rain or shine, Chief Walker walks his kids to school in uniform and interacts with the public along the way.
"Chief Walker has a plan for us. We're all behind him and we want to be a part of it."
Growing up, it was police officers like Walker who inspired Pizzanelli to become a brother in blue.
"When I was a kid, I would look at police officers as superheroes," he said. "I know that message was lost in translation for a while in our country, and I’m only one person, but I want to be able to give kids the same feeling of back when I would see an officer in uniform."
Whether it be kids or the moms of Bergen County, the River Edge Police Department is already making an impact under its new chief, and new officers.
"Thanks for the laughs and smiles," Joachim-Steinberg added. "You made a lot of moms really happy. We're also glad that Officer Pizzanelli wasn't offended. Anything he or his department ever need, we're here."
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