Fort Lee Officer Responsible for New Uniforms Receives ‘Chief’s Award’

Fort Lee Police Officer Nick Orta, a member of the Fort Lee Police Department since 1993, is the recipient of the “Chief’s Award” for the month of March, according to Police Chief Thomas Ripoli.

Fort Lee Police Chief Thomas Ripoli created his “Chief’s Award” shortly after he took over the duties of Fort Lee Police Chief in 2004. The monthly award honors individual officers for their years of commitment to the department, as well as their outstanding contributions to the community. Each month, one administrative award is issued to a member of the Fort Lee Police Department.

“I pick an officer who has time on the job,” Ripoli said last month after giving the award to Det. Frank Pantaleo. “I look at his awards, his work ethic, sick time, his loyalty to the town and the extra that he does. It’s a hard decision honestly, because there are a lot of candidates, and you try to pick from that. And you miss people along the way also.”

Orta joined the Fort Lee Police Department in August 1993 and worked on every shift in the Patrol Division. He has also assisted many local police departments with Spanish translation, and has received numerous commendations and awards throughout his career, according to the Fort Lee Police Department.

Most recently Orta was instrumental in getting the police department new uniforms, which hadn’t changed since the early 1970s. The new uniforms—the subject of a previous article on Patch—are now “more versatile for working in today’s society,” according to the Fort Lee Police Department.

Orta, who was given complete control over ordering the uniforms after he approached Ripoli about the possibility, researched, price-quoted and reviewed possible options for about 10 months before making his decision.

“I presented the changes, and [Chief Ripoli] basically agreed with all of them right away,” Orta said in a January interview. “Now we’re [more] active; we search cars, we’re on traffic pulls, there’s times where we’re on foot pursuits. It’s hard [to do those things] when you have a uniform that’s constrictive.”

Orta grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Jersey City, where he graduated from Dickinson High School. After high school, he joined the Army, serving as a non-commissioned officer with U.S. Army Intelligence from 1986 to 1990 and in U.S. Army Reserves from 1990 to 1994. Orta is a Persian Gulf War Veteran and is a life member of VFW Post 2342 in Fort Lee.

Orta is currently a Trustee with the Fort Lee PBA Local #245 and serves on several of the union committees.