2 Summit Police Officers Honored At Promotion Ceremony

SUMMIT, NJ – Two standout Summit police officers were recently honored at a promotion ceremony on Thursday, March 9 at City Hall, officials said.

Officiated by Summit Mayor Nora Radest, the ceremony saw Sergeant Jonathon Garcia promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and Officer Jeffrey Deets promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Flemington native Garcia completed his undergraduate degree at William Paterson University, majoring in business management, according to a news release from the city. After college, he worked in the small business division of AT&T, and later as an auto repair mechanic with his father at their family-owned business in Westfield.

Garcia graduated from the Monmouth County Police Academy in 2007, joining the Summit Police Department thereafter with the the Patrol Bureau; he was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2020. Garcia has served as the Summit Police Department liaison to the Union County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), which provides safe responses to individuals experiencing mental health crises and homelessness.

Deets, originally of Monmouth County, completed his undergraduate degree at Thomas Edison State University where he also majoring in business management. He began his law enforcement career as an auxiliary police officer with the Summit Police Department in 2012. After graduating from the John H. Stamler Police Academy in 2013, Sergeant Deets was assigned to the Summit Police Department Patrol Bureau. He was transferred to the Traffic Unit in 2017, and later became certified as a New Jersey Crash Investigator, Alcotest Operator, Radar Instructor and Child Passenger Safety Technician.

In 2019, Sergeant Deets received his Police Motorcycle Operator Certification and became one of the Summit Police Department’s two motorcycle officers, the city said. In 2022, he became a certified firearms instructor and the lead instructor for the department’s active shooter response training.