Now, Mulvaney will also get a chance to experience something a Weehawken police officer never has - to be part of the security detail for a presidential inauguration.
Mulvaney was the lone Weehawken police officer selected to participate with the Hudson County Prosecutor Office's Rapid Deployment Task Force in a detail during Thursday's inaugural celebration for the second term of President George W. Bush.
The 34-year-old Mulvaney, who has never visited the nation's capital in his life, will leave with the other members of the Hudson County Rapid Deployment Task Force team Tuesday and go through two days of training before receiving his assignment for the festivities on Thursday.
"It's a great honor," Mulvaney said. "It's a very prestigious position to be in, to be considered with the other great officers in the county. I'm really looking forward to it. It should be exciting. I'm going as the officer to be representing Weehawken, so it really means a lot to me."
Last summer, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office asked each police department for volunteers to form the Rapid Deployment Task Force, which was going to be called into service for the Republican National Convention in New York.
At the time, now-retired Weehawken Deputy Police Chief Robert DelPriore recommended two Weehawken officers, Mulvaney and Rene Roa, Jr., to represent Weehawken in the newly formed force.
However, Roa was then deployed by the United States National Guard Ranger Division and is currently attending Ranger school in Fort Benning, Ga.
It left Mulvaney as the lone representative.
"When Deputy Chief DelPriore asked me if I was interested, of course I said I was," Mulvaney said. "Anyone in the department would be glad to serve. It completely came out of the blue. I never expected it. I was only on the job four years. I was kind of shocked. I guess he thought highly of me. I know there were other officers who were just as deserving to go. But I knew I definitely had to do it."
Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz said that there were several reasons why Mulvaney was selected.
"He was a young, military-type police officer with a good record," Welz said. "We also knew he was very serious and conscientious about his job. We wanted someone who was going to be around for a number of years. Because all the training he receives with the task force, Weehawken benefits from what he learns. For the better part of the year, he's with us, using the training he received with the task force. He was eager to participate and very interested."
Added Welz, "John has a long career ahead of him. We're very proud he was selected to serve. We would like to commend the Prosecutor's Office for putting the task force together. I know he'll represent the township with distinction."
According to Assistant Prosecutor Jack Hill, who is the chief of the Rapid Deployment Task Force, the Hudson County contingent will cooperate with the Washington Metropolitan police department for a security detail that has yet to be determined.
"Through the New Jersey State Police, our Rapid Deployment Task Force has been asked to participate," said Hill. The force will utilize officers from all Hudson County police departments except Kearny and Hoboken. "We will work in association with the Metro Police and the Secret Service," Hill said, "and assist in the various roles needed with security details, either in the parade route or the inauguration. We tried to be sensitive with the needs of our towns which police departments we took from."
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner expressed his pride in Mulvaney.
"It's a very proud moment for Weehawken and for Hudson County," Turner said. "It's a credit to Officer Mulvaney that he was selected."
Graduated from WHS
Mulvaney is a Weehawken High School graduate (Class of 1968) who has a degree from Montclair State University. He has been married to wife Joann for four years. The couple recently welcomed their first child, son John, who is now eight months old.
Needless to say, it's been an eventful year for Mulvaney, what with fatherhood and presidential detail.
"It really has been great," Mulvaney said. "I never expected it. All of my fellow officers have been telling me to enjoy it. They said it's something that I will remember forever."
Mulvaney, who has been a part of Weehawken's regular police patrol since he joined the force, said he watched prior inaugurations on television.
"But when you're a kid, you never realize the importance of the day," Mulvaney said. "I now know it's something pretty exciting."
However, the glow will have to wear off quickly for Mulvaney. He has to return to regular patrol duty on Saturday - just two days after protecting the nation's capital.
"Yeah, it's back to work Saturday," Mulvaney said. "It's all part of the job."
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