It’s a brand new year, and the latest graduates of the Baltimore Police Department Academy Class are just settling into their first placements as officers. Not only are two of the newest grads observant Jews but both served as valedictorians for their respective classes and received the Signal 13 Foundation’s Academic Excellence Award, an honor presented to cadets considered leaders and high achievers.
“They represent what the police department is all about … embracing policing, [cadets] who went through the academy with flying colors and [are] ready to hit the ground running,” says Nancy Hinds, CEO of the Baltimore-based Frank J. Battaglia Signal 13 Foundation, which provides assistance to BPD personnel experiencing financial hardships, as well as offering college scholarships to children of active-duty personnel and organizing events to foster goodwill between police officers and the public.
Interestingly, both Officers Zachary Friedman and Mordechai Mandelbaum found themselves at the academy after serving in different roles in the culinary field.
A 31-year-old Pikesville resident, Mandelbaum traveled around the world working as a kosher culinary operations director for various travel organizations. Growing up in Minneapolis and Philadelphia, he spent about five years studying in yeshivas in Jerusalem and Monroe Township, New Jersey.
He later moved to Baltimore, where his family had relocated, and enrolled at Stevenson University to study psychology. He says he was attracted to the “hardcore aspects” of psychology — addictions counseling, suicide prevention and anti-human trafficking – and wanted to eventually become a therapist.
At one point, Mandelbaum interned in the White House, working in a research office related to national security and immigration issues. “It was an eye-opening experience about how the policy side is enacted,” he says. “I learned [about] a different piece of what I wanted to do.”
While contemplating how to merge policy matters, international affairs and psychology into a career, Mandelbaum learned that the BPD offers a specialized unit in anti-human trafficking, a subject of which he is particularly interested.
“It was serendipitous,” he says. “This was not a lifelong dream of mine to become a police officer. I did not dream about this since I was five years old. But this was a good next step.”
Mandelbaum spent two weeks in “pre-hire” training before starting the six-month police academy class last January. After graduating in August with a 94.3% average, he was assigned to the Central District, working on the midnight shift.
He plans to apply to work on the BPD’s anti-human trafficking unit after the required two years of service on patrol.
“It’s a tremendous issue,” Mandelbaum says. “It’s happening in Baltimore, it’s happening in every major city around the world, even in small towns. I’ll do whatever job title gets me to the goal of decreased human trafficking in Baltimore. … I don’t have the complex that I’m going to save the world but if I’m able to help even one case, to me that’s a victory.”
The father of a newborn daughter, Mandelbaum says he hopes his psychology background can serve as a useful tool in his law enforcement career. He is currently working remotely on earning a master’s degree in global affairs at the University of Oklahoma.
“That’s what it’s about, connecting with people, talking with people,” he says. “In addition to the law enforcement side, there’s tremendous opportunity for me personally to be able to engage with people. I know that mental health issues are at an all-time high [due to the pandemic].”
A 25-year-old Pikesville resident who grew up in western New Jersey, Zachary Friedman graduated from the BPD’s police academy in October with a 94.03% average. After making up coursework due to his observance of the High Holiday season, Friedman’s first day on patrol was last November.
A Yeshiva University graduate, Friedman worked for a while as a chef. But after losing a few restaurant jobs during the peak of the pandemic, he decided on a career change.
Friedman says he always knew he wanted to pursue a career that would not chain him to a desk. His father suggested looking into law enforcement.
“That ‘helping people’ mentality was ingrained in me from a young age,” Friedman says. “Even in my restaurant days, if I [could] make a good meal, for that hour in the restaurant, it can definitely help. Law enforcement is kind of taking that to the next level, where you can help in a more active way.”
Friedman says he decided to move to Baltimore because of its strong Jewish community. He feels that his faith is consistent with police work.
“When I think about being Jewish, a lot of it is helping people,” Friedman says. “It’s kind of how my background, was, and just being an officer in general gives me the opportunity to help people.”
In his valedictorian speech, Friedman said he hopes as a Baltimore police officer to play a role in “the greatest comeback story in America” and be a model of resilience and fortitude.
“As anyone who has ever played or watched sports knows, in order to be part of any comeback, you need the strength to fight through adversity and the resiliency to get up when it feels like you are facing insurmountable odds,” he said. “The same concepts apply to being a police officer in general. As I’m sure the more senior officers in the room can attest to, this profession will knock you down — both figuratively and literally — if you let it, and the hallmark of successful officers is their ability to battle through that adversity and get up, no matter how many times they are knocked down.”
Says Nancy Hinds of Signal 13: “That’s what the Baltimore Police Department needs — these young men and women who come out of the academy who are ready to hit the ground running, who embrace the new culture of the police department, who have been trained with the new approach to policing. They’re the new generation of police officers.”
Linda L. Esterson is a local freelance writer.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.