The Upper Moreland Police Department honored the retirement of Officer Joe Staufenberg with a proclamation to commemorate his career.

Officer Staufenberg joined the department in February 1997 and has since served as an Officer In Charge of numerous patrol squads, an instructor of firearms, emergency vehicle operations and TASER, department armorer and Motor Carrier Safety Inspector. He also served as a negotiator on the Eastern Montgomery County SWAT team, the department said.

Prior to his service to the citizens of Upper Moreland Township, Officer Staufenberg served in the Marine Corps.

“Affectionately known throughout the community as “Joe the Cop”, Officer Staufenberg has a unique way of connecting with everyone he meets through humility, kindness, generosity and his ability to make people laugh,” the department said in a post. “His sense of humor, stories and unmatched work ethic will be sorely missed around the station but his legacy will endure by the example he set for younger officers. We should all be so lucky to be a little like Joe the Cop.”

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Photos: UMPD