Chief Michael J. Potope

 

Michael Potope is the Chief of School Police for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department.  He began his law enforcement career in 1990, as a student at the Allentown Police Academy.  He was hired as a part-time Police Officer with Bangor Borough Police Department in April 1991 and became a full-time Officer with Wilson Borough Police Department in September 1991.  In 1994, he became the Crime Prevention Officer and First Aid and CPR Instructor.  In 1998, he received his first Police K-9, Sabre.   He attended Castle K-9 Inc., with K-9 Sabre and they were certified in patrol work and drug detection.  In 2004, K-9 Sabre was retired, and Chief Potope received K-9 Axel.  K-9 Axel retired in 2012.

 
In 2013, he was promoted to Patrol Sergeant.  In August 2015, he became a member of the Nazareth Area School District Police Department, after retiring from the Wilson Borough Police Department, with 25 years of service.  In July of 2023, he was promoted to Chief of School Police / Director of Security and Safety for the Nazareth Area School District.

Chief Potope is a graduate of Nazareth Area High School, the Allentown Police Academy, the Pennsylvania Fire Academy, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health Emergency Medical Technician course.  He also served four years of active duty in the United States Air Force.  Chief Potope is also a certified ALICE Instructor.

 

Captain Michael M. Wolff

Michael Wolff is a School Police Officer for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department. Michael Wolff began his law enforcement career in April 1994, as a Trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police.  He was initially assigned to Troop N, Swiftwater barracks.  He transferred to Troop M, Bethlehem, in 1996 and remained in the Troop for the rest of his career.  His first assignment was at the Fogelsville barracks.  While there, he was chosen for the permanent midnight rotation and remained in that position for 7 years.  He was selected for temporary assignment to the Criminal Investigation Unit, Fogelsville and then in 2006, he accepted a full-time CIU position at the Dublin barracks for a year.

 

In November 2006, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and was transferred to the Patrol Unit at the Bethlehem barracks.  In early 2009, he was chosen as a Negotiator with the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), which is a permanent on-call position.  He remained in this position until his retirement from the Department.  In the summer of 2009, he was selected as the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) supervisor at Dublin.  In 2011, he transferred to the Bethlehem Barracks as the CIU supervisor.  At the end of 2014, he transferred to the Patrol Unit at the Bethlehem Barracks.  As a supervisor, he was periodically designated the temporary role of acting Sergeant.  He retired in April 2018.

 

In September 2018, Michael Wolff became a member of the Nazareth Area School District Police Department.  In August of 2023, Officer Wolff was promoted to Captain Wolff of the Nazareth Area School District Police Department.  

 

He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.  He is a member of the Retired State Police Association of Pennsylvania, the Knights of Columbus, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Delaware Valley Negotiator’s Association.

 

Officer Donald A. Bartholomew

Donald A Bartholomew is a School Police Officer for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department.  Officer Bartholomew began his career in 1993 as a student at the Reading Police Academy.  He was hired full time by the Lehigh University Police Department in April 1994. In 1995, he became the first bicycle patrol officer for the University Police.  

 

In March of 1999, Officer Bartholomew was hired full time by the Pennridge Regional Police Department.  A year later, he became the Crime Prevention Officer for the Regional Police and attended numerous community events and school-related functions.  He also served as the bicycle patrol officer- patrolling the parks and playgrounds and numerous active and abandoned quarries in East and West Rockhill Townships.  

 

Officer Bartholomew served as a member of the Bucks County Major Incident Response Team (MIRT).  This is a team of specially trained officers who provide support to police departments tasked with responding to emergencies, especially large-scale events with personnel and logistical support.  

 

Officer Bartholomew attended basic supervision and management training through the Justice and Safety Institute of Penn State University for Police Supervisory In Service Training (POSIT) and Police Executive Development (POLEX). 

 

In November of 2022, Officer Bartholomew became a member of the Nazareth Area School District Police Department after retiring from the Pennridge Regional Police Department with 23 years of service. 

 

Officer William R. Carey

William R. Carey is a School Police Officer for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department. Officer Carey began his career in 1996 as a student at the Lackawanna College Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Act 120, Police Academy. In 1998, he was hired as a part-time Police Officer with Roaring Brook Police Department and part-time Deputy Sheriff with the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department. In June of 2000, he became a full-time Officer with Barrett Twp. Police Department. In July of 2015, Barrett Twp. Police Department merged into the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department, where he remained a full-time Officer until February of 2022, when he retired.

 

In 2006, through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Officer Carey completed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education training and obtained Elementary, Middle, and SRO certification and became a certified D.A.R.E. instructor, teaching in local schools. In 2007, he became a member of the Monroe County Gang Task Force. In 2017, he became a School Resource Officer at the Pocono Mountain School District East campus overseeing school safety for grades K-12. In 2021, he became School Resource Officer for the East and West campuses of the School District, as needed, where he remained until his retirement in February of 2022. During his time as Police Officer, he attended numerous community events and school-related functions throughout various communities. He also served on the Pocono Mt. Regional Police Honor Guard, whose duties included being called upon to present the colors at meetings large and small and treat our country’s flag with the respect and dignity it deserves. The most solemn duty of the Honor Guard is to show honor and respect to fallen officers.

 

In January of 2023, William R. Carey became a member of the Nazareth School Police Department.

 

He is a graduate of North Pocono High School and studied Criminal Justice at Lackawanna College for Criminal Justice and the Lackawanna Police Academy. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Association of School Resource Officers.

 

Officer Alan C. Koch

Alan Koch is a School Police Officer for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department. Officer Koch attended the Allentown Police Academy in 1995 and began his career in 1996 with the Nazareth Borough Police Department until his retirement after 25 years of service. Officer Koch has had many different roles within law enforcement. At one time or another, he held the roles of Interim Chief of Police, Criminal Investigator, Firearms Instructor and numerous others. Officer Koch attended the D.A.R.E Instructors School in 1998 and taught the program within the Nazareth Area School District for approximately 10 years.

 

Officer Koch also worked as a part-time Police Officer for the Upper Nazareth Police Department for 14 years, but his favorite role that he had was that of a soldier in the Army National Guard. Upon graduating from Nazareth Area Senior High School, Officer Koch attended Basic Training at Ft. Knox Kentucky and trained as an Armored Crewman. Officer Koch proudly served for 20 years, retiring as a Tank Commander on an M1 Abrams Tank and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Officer Koch also serves the Nazareth Area as a volunteer with the Nazareth Fire Department.

 

Officer Mark Sysko

Mark Sysko is a School Police Officer for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department. Mark began his law enforcement career in August of 1993 after graduating from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. Upon becoming a Trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police, he was initially assigned to Troop N, Fern Ridge barracks and remained there until 2007.  He then transferred to Troop M, Belfast and was stationed there for a year in the patrol unit.

 

In 2008 Mark was promoted to Corporal and was assigned as a Patrol Supervisor at Troop M Dublin, in Bucks County. Mark remained at Dublin until 2014 and transferred back to the Belfast Station as a Patrol Corporal. Mark retired as a Patrol Corporal in January of 2018 with 25 years of service with the Pennsylvania State Police. Mark spent his entire career in the Patrol Unit.

 

Officer Sysko graduated from Notre Dame High School, Green Pond. He has an associate’s degree in Electronics Technology from Lincoln Technical Institute. He also attended and graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. Officer Sysko is a Certified School Police Officer through the National Association of School Resource Officers Basic SRO School.

 

In September of 2023, Officer Sysko became a member of the Nazareth Area School District Police Department.

 

Retired Chief Jill M. Mahady 2014-2023

Jill Mahady was the first Chief of School Police/Director of Security and Safety for the Nazareth Area School District Police Department. Chief Mahady began her law enforcement career in 1993, as a Trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police. She was initially assigned to Troop N, where she spent the early part of her 21-year career working as a patrol unit trooper, before accepting a position working undercover in the Troop N, Vice/Narcotics Unit.

 

From 2001 to 2005, she worked as a criminal investigator at the Fern Ridge and Lehighton stations. In 2008, she was selected as one of the first two troopers to conduct background investigations in the newly established Bureau of Gaming Enforcement. Later that year, she received a promotion to the rank of Corporal, and served assignment(s) as a patrol unit supervisor at the Troop M, Trevose and Bethlehem Stations. 

 

In 2012, she transferred to Department Headquarters of the Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg, where she was the section supervisor of the Management and Information Analysis Section of the Bureau of Research and Development. She retired from the Pennsylvania State Police in 2014, after accepting her position with the Nazareth Area School District. 

 

Chief Mahady started the Police Department in 2014. As of 2023, she had a Police Department of Five School Police Officers and herself. 

 

In 2023, Chief Mahady retired from the Nazareth Area School District.

 

Chief Mahady is a graduate of Nazareth Area High School, the Pennsylvania State Police Academy, Police Executive Development (POLEX), and served four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps. 

 

She is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, Northeast Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, National Association of School Resource Officers and the Retired State Police Association of Pennsylvania.

 

Thank you Chief Mahady for your direction and leadership throughout your career here at Nazareth.