Two Westwood Police Officers Celebrated Upon Retirement

Two longtime officers with the Westwood Police Department recently retired.

Sgt. Robert Held and Capt. Frank Durante had both been with the department since the 1980s and earned numerous accolades during their careers.

"Both of them were extremely dedicated officers," Police Chief Frank Regino said.

Held was first hired by the Westwood Police Department in 1982 and promoted to sergeant in 2002. He served as motorcycle officer and as the traffic officer since 2005. Held also was certified as a traffic crash reconstructionist and earned numerous other certificates for completing in-service classes.

"He was working hard up to the last day," Regino said.

Held, who is also a life member of the Westwood Ambulance Corps, said he has "loved" his time serving and urged others to get involved in community groups like the Corps, Fire Department or youth sports.

Durante was first hired in 1984 and was promoted to sergeant in 1995, lieutenant in 2002 and captain in 2009. He also earned numerous certificates for completing in-service classes and served as the department's internal affairs unit commander, scheduling officer, traffic officer and public information officer, among other duties. He was also named the department executive officer in 2005, a position in which he worked closely with Chief Regino.

"He was more like a brother to me," Regino said. "We thought a lot alike and agreed on most of the things to make the department run as smoothly as possible."

Durante said it had been "an honor and a privilege to serve this community."

Both officers were given proclamations wishing them happy retirements by borough officials at their last council meeting.

"Westwood is certainly going to miss you both," Mayor John Birkner said. "We are grateful for your years of service."