1. Please select the ten items that value most in a police chief. Place numbers by your ten selected items in order of importance (1= most important and 10= least important) Choose only ten items:
___Strategic planning skills
___Experience with community oriented policing
___Educational qualifications (college degrees)
___Length of law enforcement experience
___Experience in university-city relationships
___Collective bargaining skills
___Community involvement
___Honesty and integrity
___Involvement in daily department activities
___Accessibility to the public
___Written and verbal communications skills
___Innovative crime prevention skills
___Fiscal affairs and budgetary skills
___Relations with other law enforcement agencies
___Experience in a multicultural community
___Computer technology skills
___Affirmative action record
___Ability to effect organizational change
___Other:___________
2. What issues would you like for the new police chief to address in the first year of his tenure?
3. Please list two questions you would like for me to consider when interviewing candidates.
4. Other comments and suggestions.
This is truly a first for this agency.
June 9, 2005: The Township Council is expected to introduce an ordinance on the 14th that would change testing requirements and eligibility for township police recruits. If the ordinance is adopted, less weight would be given to the written portion of the tests given to prospective officers. In addition, military service would count as college credits; a change police have said would open the door to a higher number of qualified recruits. Currently, recruits are ranked by their performance on written, physical and oral exams, with the written portion accounting for 100% of a recruit’s total weighted score. If adopted, the written exam would account for 70% of the recruits’ total weighted score and the oral exam would account for the other 30%. The proposal would also change how college credits are used in the application process. Currently a recruit must have 60 college credits. Under the changes, the requirements would be 60 college credits or four years of military service. The ordinance was drafted after Township Manager Matthew Watkins met with union presidents Gary Luck (FOP) and Martin Conte (PBA).
June 14, 2005: The Township Council decided to table the ordinance until June 28, because Township Attorney Don Sears made some changes to the wording in a proposed draft. The council also requested that the presidents of the two police unions sign an agreement stating they approve of the hiring changes. Councilwoman Carol Barrett raised concerns that the changes were being made without the official approval of the unions. While the ordinance was drafted after meeting between union officials and the Township Manager, Barrett said the unions should agree to the changes in writing. She said the council adopted an ordinance in November governing college credits. She said that, at the time, she was told the unions agreed with the changes only to have officers pack the township meeting several months later. The rest of the council agreed and unanimously voted to table the ordinance.
June 27, 2005 was the day Stephanie Rampacek was hired as a dispatcher.
July 14, 2005: With the necessary signatures in place, the Township Council has introduced the ordinance that changes the requirements for township police recruits. The ordinance changes the way police tests are graded, giving less weight to the written and more to the oral portion of the exam. The written portion currently accounts for 100% of a recruits score. The ordinance lowers that to 70% and makes the oral portion worth 30%. In addition, the ordinance changes the composition of the panel that gives the oral exam. Currently it consists of the township manager, the township police chief, operations captain and two other officers with the rank of captain or higher. If the ordinance is adopted, the panel would be chosen by the township manager 10 days prior to the exam and would include the manager or his designee and four township police officers of any rank. Choosing the officers would be at the discretion of the township manager. The ordinance also allows for four years of active military service to count as fours years of college credits.
July 21, 2005: Township Manager Matt Watkins is in the process of hiring a new police chief. He plans to announce his selection by August. According to Watkins, candidates’ resumes and evaluations are being reviewed. Prospective candidates will also submit in written form, a description of their vision for the police department. Only lieutenants and captains are eligible for the position.
August 09, 2005: Regulations regarding how police recruits are hired in the township have changed. The Township Council adopted the ordinance that will change the scale of the entrance exam and the people who administer the oral exam, and will allow military service to count as college credits.
August 11, 2005: Township Manager Matt Watkins has made his choice for the position of Chief of Police. 16-year veteran, Lt. Raymond Hayducka, 38, has been picked to lead the Police Department’s 78 sworn officers and serve as its sixth chief. Hayducka will be officially sworn in on September 01, 2005 at 1400. After the announcement, Hayducka addressed the crowd in attendance, and then spoke individually with the civilian staff, followed by the sworn staff. In the next few weeks, Hayducka plans on meeting with every police employee individually to address concerns, comments and possible ideas during the restructuring of the department.
August 23, 2005 was the day Roger Tuohy, 28 of Bayonne and Ken Herman, 30 from NJDOC were sworn in as police officers. The swearing in took place at 1415 hrs in the municipal building.
August 31, 2005: The panic alarms installed throughout the police wing of the municipal building are finally operational, sending the appropriate alarm into dispatch for alert
September 1, 2005: Lt. Raymond J. Hayducka was sworn in as the department’s seventh Chief of Police in a private session with the Township Manager at 0830 hrs. This was done immediately upon Watkins’ reporting for work. Watkins said he was confident he made the right choice in his selection for chief. “This is one of the finest departments in the state of New Jersey and it’s important that we carry on what has been started here many years ago at the same level. I think that we’ve come up with a chief who will continue the long-standing tradition,” he said.
The new Chief’s first official act was to disband Department’s Terrorism Task Force, occurring at 0837 hrs. We still retain two officers as liaisons for any terrorism related issues.
At 1400 hrs at the Senior Center, a formal swearing in ceremony took place in which over 150 persons were in attendance.
Hayducka is received warmly by the men and women who serve underneath him. Hayducka’s vision statement states in part that “The South Brunswick Police Department is an organization that values its employees and the community they serve. We will provide community service to the highest possible standards by preventing crime, enforcing the law, preserving the peace, protecting property, investigating crime and traffic enforcement. The agency will treat our employees and our citizens with dignity and respect, continually meeting their needs through effective service and problem solving. We will meet the needs of the community by delivering progressive and cost effective law enforcement services, maintain high standards of excellence utilizing training and technology, identify and meet the challenges of our increasingly diverse community, seeking input for the citizenry and employees and by maintaining a safe community through crime prevention, aggressive traffic and criminal law enforcement.”
Hayducka’s philosophy takes a “back to basics approach” with an emphasis on service, citizenry, quality work, respect, problem solving and sincere commitment to the needs of the Township of South Brunswick.
During his speech, Chief Hayducka unveiled up coming promotions, slated for the 15th of September.
Officers are glad to hear of this and now have a sense of direction, confidence and security knowing that now they can do what they do best, police work… and according to many veteran officers, this change was way overdue. “We really need a sense of direction.”
September 3, 2005: 0630 a call is received by dispatch that a dog was struck on Deans-Rhode Hall Rd by the turnpike overpass. Sgt. Karpiscak arrives to find out that the “dog” is actually a coyote not indigenous to the area, and is still alive. Animal Control Officer John Hunt arrives and removes the animal. “Now I have to do a ton of research on this thing and make a bunch of phone calls,” says Hunt.
Later in the shift Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management calls to find out if our department has adequate man power to head down to New Orleans, Louisiana to assist in the largest natural disaster to ever hit the United States of America, Hurricane Katrina which fell upon New Orleans on August 29, 2005, virtually flooding the entire city. Chief Hayducka was summoned and advised them we will staff the job with Sgt. Karpiscak and PFC Martin Conte to be available to head down. The two prepare, stocking up on MRE’s and survival gear. They await word for deployment.
September 6, 2005 was the first day of school for township children. Chief Hayducka advised the School Resource Officers that they would now fall under the Juvenile Bureau, supervised by Sgt. Mark Domino. Domino now will become an SRO and will need to be certified to teach D.A.R.E.
On September 8, 2005, the Chief advises all uniformed personnel that they now have the option of wearing either a white crew neck or a white v-neck undershirt under their uniform shirt.
On September 8, 2005 is was announced that the Police Department is looking for high school and college-age student interested in becoming police officers and is offering to give them a taste of police work. Interested students will get the chance to join Explorer Post 166, a subset of the Boy Scouts of America Learning of Life wing. Applicants need not be Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. The Explorer Post has been sponsored by the Police Department for the last 10 years.
On September 9, 2005 a line painting company arrived at headquarters and painted the police fleet lot. Each vehicle now has an assigned spot so Sergeants, Officers and Public Works can quickly identify vehicles. We have been asking for this for years. (It gets crazy wandering around the rear lot looking for your assigned vehicle.) There are a lot of patrol cars and the parking lot is just big enough to accommodate them all, so it is imperative that officers return the vehicles to their assigned stalls. One “slip-up” is all it will take to create trickle-down bedlam. Officers jokingly inquire if they can “personalize” their stalls.
On September 13, 2005, Chief Hayducka calls for a Department Meeting. He advises sworn and non-sworn personnel of his vision and its explanation and of his philosophy. He also states that some bureaus may be moved and restructured, and in the process some clerical positions previously vacated will not be filled. The Chief puts Lt. Patrick J. Owens as acting Captain overseeing patrol operations, Sgt. Gary J. Luck as acting Lt. in the capacity of B Squad Patrol Division Commander, Lt. Kevin J. Hughes as A Squad Patrol Division Commander and Sgt. Edward George as acting Lt. of Investigations.
The Chief also laid out his plans regarding patrol vehicle attrition. Hayducka stated as the vehicles are replaced, new black and white units will take over, giving the department a new look. Ptl. Laszlo Nyitrai is in charge of the new vehicle designed which was unveiled at the meeting.
Also, it was explained that Evidence Officer, PFC Greg Rule will now have added responsibilities and will begin assisting in investigations. “And so with that, I’m promoting Greg to Detective… right now. Greg, come up and get your gold badge!” said Chief Hayducka. The Chief reaches into his pocket and pulls out the badge still in its wrapper as a stunned Greg Rule comes up from the rear of the meeting room. He is given a thunderous ovation and receives congratulatory hand shakes from his peers.
On September 15, 2005 at 1500 hrs, Chief Hayducka promoted Lt. Patrick J. Owens to Captain, Sgt. Gary J. Luck to Lt., Sgt. Edward George to Lt. and PFCs Lloyd Oertel and William Grischuk to the rank of Sergeant. We move on with tradition and honor.
On September 17, 2005 at 0630 hrs, Sgt. Jeff Karpiscak and PFC Martin Conte roll out of headquarters and head to Sayreville PD to muster with other officers heading down to Louisiana They meet and are advised they will be part of Operation L.E.A.D. (Louisiana Emergency Assistance Deployment) which officially began September 3, 2005. The operation was organized and directed by the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. More than 600 personnel from across New Jersey, including local and state law enforcement officers, water rescue technicians, hazmat personnel, decontamination personnel, medical support personnel and others will respond. Their designation is Task Force II, Strike Team III. Their tour will be approximately two-weeks. L.E.A.D.’s primary mission in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is to lend support to the citizens of Louisiana and other agencies by way of staffing, expertise, assets and coordination to ensure that a systematic approach to recovering from the devastation is achieved.
September 20, 2005 was the day Joann Phillips was hired as a part-time telecommunications operator.
September 22, 2005 the local newspapers run the headline, “SROs pulled from grade schools.” Chief Hayducka has ended the elementary school portion of the SRO because federal funding for the SROs is no longer available and because he wants to put more officers on patrol. School Superintendent Gary McCartney said he would like to keep the program intact, but he can understand the chief’s concerns. “I am hopeful that there will be no further intrusions into the program and we can move forward with what we have. Some folks might be disappointed but this is something the district has no control over. And any decision the township Police Department makes I will trust is in the best interest of the township,” he said. The chief said that if funding can be found for the program he would reinstate the program in the elementary schools. The South Brunswick Post newspaper supported the chief’s decision in an editorial. Only one resident expressed concern.
September 29, 2005 at 0330 hrs, Sgt. Jeff Karpiscak and PFC Martin Conte return from Operation L.E.A.D. The were a part of a team consisting 148 police officers, medical and decontamination personnel who patrolled New Orleans’ Second and Sixth police districts. They also helped to close out over 8,000 unanswered 9-1-1 calls from the day the levees broke and flooded the city, and assisted as armed escorts for the FEMA DEMORT teams engaged in body recovery operations. “In the time of greatest need, New Jersey helped New Orleans turn the corner,” acting Governor Richard J. Codey stated. “When I visited that devastated city, New Orleans’ leaders offer great praise for the high level of training and skill shown by New Jersey’s law enforcement officers” Attorney General Peter C. Harvey added, “New Jersey’s responders have made a significant impact in Louisiana. It’s a testament to their training and character that have been able to help the state and its citizens, and we are grateful for their courage, selflessness and dedication. We extend them our thanks and we are grateful for their safe return. New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes said, “This was an enormous mission with operations ranging from search and rescue, to patrols of the city streets, to emergency medical services. We distributed water and meals ready-to-eat, to meet peoples’ basic needs. Many times, a person’s first point of contact turned out to be a New Jersey law enforcement officer.” Sgt. Karpiscak agreed. “We came upon an individual who apparently kept himself in his residence, ignoring evacuation orders. This man had no electricity, no water, no food, nothing. His name is Lance Hill.” It turns out he is an adjunct professor of history and director of a pro-tolerance program at Tulane University. Hill moved to Louisiana to specifically do anti-Klan work and labor organizing and is widely credited with leading a grassroots campaign in the early 1990’s that stopped David Duke’s most serious insurgency into American electoral politics. “We had turned the corner onto Hurst St and saw a car I had recognized from a story run by CNN a week early. The car had the word ‘aid’ and crosses spray painted on all four sides. The man (Hill) was delivering Pedialyte, diapers and formula for the babies trapped in the Superdome in the days following the levee breaks when he was practically run out of town by local authorities. Hill stated the police shot at him, not to kill, but to scare him out of town under the mandatory evacuations. Hill refused and stayed in the city delivering as much help as possible to the evacuees. Lance was sitting outside his house with a candle lit. As I approached him, he became nervous and began retreating until I spoke to him. Hill thought we (Marty and I) were there to forcibly remove him from the city. Hill was grateful stating that we were the only two people to talk to him and hear his side of the story since the hurricane. After about an hour we gave him all the food and water he needed and made arrangements for an elderly couple he was caring for. We checked on him periodically and at our last contact prior to heading home we gave him a few trinkets from the South Brunswick Police Department. Hill said he will keep the South Brunswick Police Department in his heart forever.”
October 6, 2005: the latest statistics are out. The Police Department has issued 1,040 traffic tickets in September, a 291 percent increase from September 2004 when 266 tickets were issued. The increase in tickets prompted the Township Council to discuss the possibility of hiring a third municipal judge so that the municipal court does not get backlogged. The increase in tickets is due to Chief Hayducka’s Proactive Saturation Traffic Enforcement Detail. The goal of the program is to put a number of officers in a specific area, as small as a half mile, and saturate the area with enforcement and then move randomly to another location in town. The areas of town are chosen based on concerns from citizens, known trouble spots and heavy traffic locations.
On November 21, 2005 the Police Department was selected as a national award winner for its’ video submission about the “22nd Annual National Night Out.” Members of the district’s Viking Television Network worked with the Police Department to film portions of National Night Out and edit footage into the winning submission. The submission took third place nationally.
December 22, 2005 was the day four new officers were sworn in to the department. Ryan Bonura, 23 of North Brunswick Twp, NJ, Jason Gassman, 33 of Bradley Beach, NJ, Michael Leung, 23 of Jamesburg, NJ and Joseph Marrero, 37 of East Brunswick Twp, NJ. All have previous police employment, and after getting familiar with the township roadways and boundaries will supplement the force in a timely fashion.
On January 4, 2006 a New Jersey Appellate Court decided that Ptl. Steven Walrond can sue the county for damages incurred as a result being struck by lightning while on duty at the Somerset Police Academy on August 13, 2001 The decision overturned a previous Superior Court ruling. Walrond was not paid by the academy so cannot be considered an employee subject to the Worker’s Compensation Act, the Appellate Court ruled. The decision reverses a Superior Court opinion that found Walrond to be a “special employee” of the academy whose only remedy was worker’s comp. Walrond was struck by lightning while working as a trainer at the academy. The bolt struck the metal badge on his uniform hat and caused other metal objects on his body, including his chest badge to burn his body. It also caused a stroke that partially paralyzed the right side of his body. Walrond also underwent several surgeries for a ruptured eardrum. In an affidavit, Walrond says academy officials were negligent when they instructed recruits and trainers to run in the rain and then to remove a flag from a flagpole during a storm. Walrond is back to work for the department, but he is on “modified duty” or non-patrol duty and still suffers from weakness
On February 10, 2006 Chief Hayducka advises all personnel that Lt. Kevin Hughes is now the Acting Deputy Chief.
February 14, 2006 was the day George Vit was sworn in as a Patrolman. This addition brings the total number of sworn officers to 82, which is the highest in the history of the agency. Mr. Vit is a recent graduate of the Somerset County Police Academy and formerly a North Plainfield Police Officer. He is an Edison resident and a graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is also a Sergeant in the Army National Guard, completing a one year tour of duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He received two Army Achievement Medals while serving. Mr. Vit is also fluent in Czech.
February 21, 2006 was the day Lt. Kevin Hughes was promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief. Also taking oaths were Sgt. James Kinard to the rank of Lieutenant and Detective John McNamara to the rank of Sergeant.
March 9, 2006, the department unveils its newest member of the police fleet. Car 922 is the traditional iconic black-and-white vehicle. One by one the current blue and white vehicles will be replaced by this paint scene. Under the replacement plan, it will take about three years to entirely replace the 33 car fleet. Additional features will include a lower profile LED overhead light bar and a small metal cage on the inside of the rear windows designed to protect the windows from damage caused by suspects. Also added are the words, “To Protect and Serve,” on the rear quarter panel and an American flag just behind the rear doors on the c-pillar. The police unions volunteered to pay for the flags. On September 11, 2001 all the marked patrol cars had American flags on the c-pillars, affixed by assigned officers to their respective vehicles.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 part-time patrolman from 1957 to 1980, George H. Kirby passed away at his home in Milford, Del. He was 77.
March 26, 2006 was the day Richard Domotor was hired as a part-time telecommunications operator. Rich comes from a long line of law enforcement.
March 30, 2006 it is reported in the press that last week a federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Police Chief Raymond Hayducka as part of a settlement agreement between the township and the family of Kyung-Ho La, a man killed by police in self-defense on December 20, 1999. As part of the agreement, the township will pay $115,000.00 to the victim’s parents. The township settled the suit because going to trial would have cost more than the settlement. “(Chief Hayducka) is exonerated from any civil liability as a result of the settlement, “Jack Venturi, (Hayducka’s attorney) said. He estimated that the township already has spent about $500,000.00 on legal costs. The Police Department and seven other officers originally named in the lawsuit when it was filed in 2000 were later dropped from the suit. “Sometimes it can take years before everyone can know you were justified in what you did,” police spokesman Detective James Ryan said.
April 1, 2006 the minimum manpower for the “3” shift (1400-0030) has been raised to six officers.
April 3, 2006 was the day in which Sergeant Scott Williams assumed the position as Sergeant of the Support Services Bureau, as Sergeant Joseph Charmello was transferred to Sergeant of the Traffic Bureau.
April 4, 2006 was the day Matthew Schmidt was hired as a part-time telecommunications operator. He is also a fireman in East Windsor, NJ.
May 1, 2006 was the day Louis Braconi was hired as the Public Safety Telecommunicator Supervisor. Louis was previously a Police Officer in North Brunswick, NJ having recently retired after 26 years of service. Some of his assignments there included Records Bureau Supervisor, Computer Systems Coordinator, 9-1-1 Coordinator, CJIS TAC Officer, Evidence Officer, and Detective Sergeant.
June 1, 2006 was the day Andrew VanEmburgh and Ryan Degraw were hired as part-time telecommunications operators. VanEmburgh is a fireman in Sayreville, NJ and Degraw is a fireman in East Brunswick, NJ.
July 1, 2006: Patrolman Joseph Halmi was assigned as a Detective in the Juvenile Bureau. Halmi was a School Resource Officer.
July 13, 2006: The Township Council is preparing to introduce an ordinance that would create a third captain position within the department. Lt. Harry Delgado is to be named the new captain once the ordinance is adopted. The new position will cut down on overtime for the lieutenants, allow for more officers to be put on the road and also help to provide more guidance to officers and continue to grow as the township’s population does. “The additional captain would allow us to provide the focus and direction the council set a year ago,” Chief Hayducka said.
On July 17, 2006 there was a restructuring of the police department. Captain Mark Montagna is reassigned as the Operations Captain and will be in charge of the Patrol Division. Captain Patrick J. Owens is reassigned as the Detective Captain in charge of the Investigative Division. Acting Captain Harry Delgado is assigned to be charge of the Administrative Command in charge of Support Services.
On August 1, 2006 the minimum manpower on all midnight shifts is now raised to six.
On September 7, 2006 the Police Department creates a gang unit to keep tabs on the growing number of gang members moving from cities into the township. An increase in graffiti “tags” as well as common knowledge prompted the creation of the unit. “It would be naïve to say there is no gang activity. We’re not going to put our heads in the sand. There is a gang presence in every community and we’re no different,” said Detective James Ryan. The Gang Intelligence Unit is led by Ptl. Jeff Russo.
September 8, 2006: Detective James Stoddard was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, Sergeant Joseph Charmello was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in charge of Support Services and Lieutenant Harry Delgado is officially promoted to the rank of Captain in charge of the Administrative Command overseeing Support Services. Sergeant Patrick O’Brien was transferred from patrol midnights to Traffic to fill the vacancy created by Charmello.
September 14, 2006 was the day Brooke Hackworth and Cassandra Heffner were hired as part-time telecommunications operators.
September 20, 2006 it was announced that Patrol Officer Susan (Gerdes) Rausch was assigned to Investigations as a Detective. She is the first female Detective in the history of the agency.
September 21, 2006 was the day Michael Hallman and Monica Posteraro were sworn in as police officers. Posteraro was a full-time telecommunications operator for this agency and was hired September 10, 2002. Michael joined the United States Air Force and he was a Security Forces Investigator prior to getting hired by South Brunswick Police Department. The swearing in took place on the 21st at 1530 hrs in the township main meeting room.
September 22, 2006: The first gang-related shooting occurs within the township. No one was hurt in the noon “drive-by” incident, but two arrests were quickly made with the assistance of the newly established Gang Intelligence Unit.
October 30, 2006: The department conducted two weeks of special training days to introduce two Use of Force tools to our officers. The first tool to be replaced was the department issued Monadnock PR-24, a fixed length side handled baton. It has been in use in the agency for over 15 years, (replacing the straight baton with steel “sternum breaker” which replaced the classic wooden “night-stick”). Our officers, over the years, were asking for an impact weapon that was more compact, could be stored on the duty belt at all times, and easier to maneuver. The research was conducted and the Monadnock Expandable Baton #9025 (or MEB) was selected. Response from officers to this new toll has been overwhelmingly positive.
The second tool to be replaced and upgraded was the department issued OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) spray. Until this month, our officers carried the CAP-STUN formulation model #305 of OC made by the Zarc Company It was an oil-based OC with an alcohol propellant that delivered approximately 1.5 million Scoville Heat Units in aerosol form. The new OC spray is also a Zarc product called VEXOR. It is also oil-based but it’s delivered in a spiral stream thereby reducing cross-contamination of officers who deploy it. The propellant is not alcohol based, and therefore not flammable. At 15 million Scoville Heat Units, it is also the most powerful formulation available. More heat means less resistance from subjects and therefore more safety for our officers.
The sensation of heat that we experience from eating certain peppers is due to a chemical called capsaicin. The more capsaicin present in a pepper, the hotter it will taste. Using the Scoville Heat Index (a system devised to determine how hot foods are), a bell pepper has a value of zero. A pimento has 500 SHUs (Scoville Heat Units), Tabasco Sauce has 5,000 SHUs. The Jalapeno pepper has 8,000 SHUs, Cayenne pepper has 50,000 SHUs, and Scotch Bonnet pepper has a value of 325,000 SHUs. The Habanero pepper has 350,000 SHUs and common pepper spray has a value of 2,000,000 SHUs. Pure capsaicin has 16,000,000 SHUs. Other police departments have had extreme success with this product.
December 31, 2006: Chief Raymond Hayducka says that the police force hopes to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents and improve the quality of life for township residents in 2007. The department has applied for several grants for 2007 from the state to educate drivers to be more cautious and safe. The Chief also said that the department is going to continue to reach out to community members to help improve the quality of life. The department is also preparing itself for its final New Jersey State Association of Chief’s of Police Department Accreditation Program assessment by having a mock assessment in 2007. Through the program, departments must adopt best practices measures put forth by the association, and addresses issues such as use of force, authority and jurisdiction; recruitment, selection and promotion of personnel, training (investigations, street-survival and technology), discipline and internal affairs. “Studies have shown that through accreditation there are less lawsuits and morale is higher, and there is also a 5 percent reduction in insurance costs, which is significant in a town of South Brunswick’s size,” said Chief Hayducka.
January 9, 2007: During a Township Council meeting, the police department along with the Township Manager, presented a proposal by Captain Patrick J. Owens for upgrading the departments’ computer system which is more than 20 years old, (see February 9, 1984). According to the chief the force would like the township to invest in the Enforsys system to replace the current CPLIMS package. Support for CPLIMS will soon run out, which means that the department will be unable to acquire and install key upgrades and will lose access to technical support from the company, which means that if the system were to ever crash, the department might not be able to get help. This is in addition to the assessment offered by those giving the presentation that the department needed to upgrade to something more modern anyway. “[The current system] has run out its useful life. …In 20 years, it’s served its purpose, but it’s time to get a new system,” said Township Manager Matthew Watkins. The upgrade would take about a year and would cost $678,590.00.
January 18, 2006: The numbers are in and car crashes are down in South Brunswick. Crashes on Routes 1 and 130 were down 50% in November and December from the same time in 2005 chiefly because of increased patrols that an Aggressive Driving grant that the state helped pay for. The grant allowed the township to increase patrols during the end of the year. “In 2005 I made a commitment to add officers to the road and increase enforcement efforts. Our officers have pursued enforcement against the underlying causes of serious and fatal accidents. A grant from the State of New Jersey enabled us to expand our efforts in December. These increased efforts have resulted in safer roadways and lives saved. It is the dedication and commitment by the men and women of the South Brunswick Police Department to make our roadways safer that have produced these results.” said Chief Hayducka. Police have issued 11,076 summonses in 2006, the most in the department’s history and 33.5% more than the 7,366 summonses issued in 2005. The increased enforcement was accompanied by a 25% decrease in fatal accidents as well.
January 18, 2007 was the day Richard Domotor Jr. was hired as a full-time Public Safety Telecommunicator. Richard was previously a part-time Public Safety Telecommunicator for this agency.
February 13, 2007 was the day Christopher Rampacek was hired as a part-time Public Safety Telecommunicator. Christopher is also a fireman in North Brunswick, NJ.
March 5, 2007 was the day Jonathan Myzie and Brittany Kane were hired as part-time Public Safety Telecommunicators. Brittany is also a Public Safety Telecommunicator in Jamesburg, NJ.
On March 27, 2007 five officers were sworn in. Michael Urstadt, a 29 year old Bronx, NY native and a former Health Science teacher, holding a BS Degree. Jessie Blake, a 28 year old from Howell, NJ holding a Master’s Degree and is a Patrol Officer from Mansfield, NJ. Sean Roberts, a 27 year old from Perth Amboy, NJ who holds a BS degree from Rutgers. Ryan Bartunek, a 24 year old Ohio native receiving a BA Degree, and Peter Santa, a 27 year old from Port Murray NJ. He was a dispatcher from Mount Olive PD and holds an Associates Degree. Blake and Roberts are PTC Certified and Bartunek will graduate the Alternate Route Program in June 2007. Urstadt and Santa will be attending a Police Academy.
March 29, 2007: The agency is one of 10 police departments in Middlesex County to receive federal grant monies through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security has awarded 2,000 equipment and training grants to first responders across the nation as part of its Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP). The program helps to ensure law enforcement agencies and emergency responders can acquire specialized equipment and training to meet their homeland security mission. Our department as been awarded a Thermal Imager designed for Law Enforcement applications and the training associated with it. As of this date our department has been using a Thermal Imager designed for Fire Fighters through the Office of Emergency Management. The new imager will be our own. Training is slated for May 2007 in New Orleans. As recommended by Chief Hayducka, the three day session will be attended by Sergeant Jeff Karpiscak who has been using the OEM Thermal Imager on his midnight shift. The new unit will be the Bullard TacSight S1.
On April 13, 2007 Lieutenant Gary Luck was promoted to Captain, Sergeant Scott Williams promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and Patrolmen Kevin O’Brien and Robert Weiler were promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
On June 15, 2007 On-Line crime reporting has been activated at www.sbpdnj.org. The agency wants to eliminate the inconvenience that citizens may have in coming to Police Headquarters to report minor crimes. Citizens can file reports via the Internet any time of the day, from anywhere they have access to a computer. “In order to enhance our service and maximize our resources, we have created a new way to file police reports,” said Chief Hayducka. Currently the following types of incidents are allowed to be reported by electronic filing:
1. Theft
2. Vandalism
3. Car Burglary
4. Lost Property
5. Harassing Phone Calls
6. Financial Crime (credit card / check fraud or fraudulent use of one’s identity).
One of the first reports to be filed was an attempted residential burglary of an occupied dwelling. Education on all ends will be required to make this program successful. The goal is to give people greater convenience and access when filing a police report. “We believe this is the future of policing,” said Captain Patrick J. Owens.
On June 26, 2007 the Chief publicly unveils the departments’ motor unit. It’s been about 72 years since motorcycles patrolled the township and now they’re back. Since 2003 fines for speeding and aggressive driving on Rt. 1 doubled under the Safe Corridors Program. Those fines are earmarked to make the state’s roadways safer. Out of that fund, a $73,000 grant was given to South Brunswick Township to create a motorcycle unit. “The funds generated through increased fines go back to the municipalities for equipment and educational tools to get people to recognize the importance of safety. The money coming from the citizens goes back to the citizens to make the community safer,” said Pam Fischer, Director of the State Division of Highway Traffic Safety. The department has acquired two new Harley Davidson Road King Police Edition motorcycles. PFC Dale Owens and Officer Frank Mongalieri are assigned to them. Already radar summonses have tripled and if the program continues to prove itself, the department may purchase two more units and train two additional officers.
In September, the police department goes to a permanent four-district car plan. The township is now broken into four areas as opposed to the older three-district plan. The move creates a smaller area for individual officers to patrol. The plan also increases the minimum manpower for each shift, assuring more officers on the road to serve the residents with more speed and efficiency. The realignment of the districts does not create any real disruption for the patrol officers who were used to the three-district plan for many years. This is only the third time the districts have been realigned.
On October 17, 2007 the state crime figures were printed in the press. The overall crime in Middlesex County climbed 1.1 percent as statewide figures dropped about two percent. South Brunswick reported a crimes increase of 15.4% to 630 last year from 546 in 2005. Detective James Ryan stated the increase was partly due to the township’s increasing population. Burglaries increased 26.8 percent from 112 in 2005 to 142 in 2006. Larcenies went up 17.1 percent from 357 to 418. In addition domestic violence incidents increased 37.8 percent from 127 to 175. Ryan noted that the statistics were 10 months old and the number of reported incidents appeared to be down this year dropping by over 15 percent so far, which he attributed to a shift in assignments in the department. Also there are no road fatalities this year which can be attributed to the chief’s revamping of road patrols for selective enforcement details.
On October 24, 2007 the department begins familiarization in a new computer aided dispatch system called Enforsys. Enforsys is a fully integrated multi-jurisdictional state-of-the-art decision support system that includes CAD, RMS, and full mobile computing. Enforsys provides a real-time link between agencies, with flexibility and user-friendly features that enables each agency to configure the system to meet their needs, yet jointly respond to events while retaining individual requirements. Enforsys is designed for multi-jurisdictional use. It has reporting flexibility, CAD mapping and call history, information sharing. It is intuitive, secure and user friendly. Enforsys captures data at the point of incident. It provides real time data and queries in the field. It improves productivity and reporting accuracy while reducing overtime. It integrates communication with other agencies databases and shows to reduce operational costs. This will work in parallel with our CPLIMS system which was installed on February 9, 1984, our INFOCOP system which came on board after the original MDC’s (Digicom-870) were replaced with mobile in-car laptops and our in house forms package. The training consisted of a two-hour block with a lot of information disseminated. The officers were advised that the system will go live on November 1, 2007 for them, only when they felt comfortable and prepared. Dispatch is already using the system for a few months now. We are to use the training module to familiarize ourselves with the system and prepare to go into production. Many of the patrol cars do not have the Panasonic Tough-Book laptop in their cars which support Enforsys; they have an older lap top used to support the INFOCOP system. In addition, a new T1 (fiber optic) communication line needs to be run into headquarters to support the system. The T1 line can carry data at a rate of 1.544 megabits per second (60 times more data than a residential modem) which will be a vast improvement from the analog lines now in use. There seems to be a huge jump in technology that we are about to experience in a very short time.
On October 31, 2007 during the dayshift, the CPLIMS system has crashed, and it appears to be down for the count (see January 9, 2007). The licensing agreement has expired and the department can no longer store data it accumulates (reports, summonses, statistics etc.) CPLIMS only works as a read-only system and this sends the department into a spin. It is determined that the entire department will now rely solely on the new Enforsys system to carry on its day-to-day operations.
November 27, 2007 was the day Matthew Skolsky was sworn in as a police officer. He is currently putting himself through the Somerset Police Academy under the Alternate Route Program. He will graduate in December of this year. The Alternate Route Program was designed to give individuals interested in becoming police officers, the opportunity to attend a certified police training academy at their own expense, prior to being hired by a police, sheriff’s or campus police department. Although successful completion of the program does not guarantee a candidate a position in law enforcement, graduates will have received training from a certified police academy and are able to pursue employment as a certified police officer. Basic Police Training is conducted twice a year. The program is approximately 24 weeks in duration. The Somerset County Police Academy is non-residency with trainees attending classes forty hours a week. The total cost of the program is about $4,100.00 and includes:
• Registration fee: $50 (covers written and physical fitness test)
• Processing fee: $300 (due at completion of training)
• Medical, Stress & Psychological exams: $785
• Insurance (liability/health)
• Uniform & Equipment: $1,515
• Tuition: $1,350 (due at completion of training)
The selection criteria and requirements are comprehensive.
“I was always in favor of the program. It shows that the prospective candidate has the interest, drive and motivation in becoming a police officer. It saves the township big bucks in training and provides for a pool of officers that agencies can draw from.” Sgt. J. Karpiscak
November 30, 2007 it was learned that the police gas pumps are going to replaced. The current pumps utilize a magnetic “swipe” card to record the car number. A keypad registers the officer, mileage and activates the pumps. The card system and pumps will be replaced (no software support) with a key system with each car being issued a key. A key system was first used back in August of 1968 and subsequently replaced with the current system.
December 02, 2007: The first snowfall of the season hits the area with flakes starting at 0259 hrs. The snowfall’s first victim: Car 917, slides off the road at 440 hrs.
On January 01, 2008 the adult and juvenile bureaus have consolidated into one investigative unit which will be known as Criminal Investigations under the Command of Captain Patrick J. Owens. The investigative unit consists of two squads of detectives that will handle all types of investigations. Squad A is comprised of Detective Sergeant John McNamara and Detectives Joseph Halmi, James Ryan, Robert Carinci and Ronald Seaman. The will work out the former adult bureau. Squad B consists of Detective Sergeant Mark Domino and Detectives John Klemas, Richard Schwarz and Christopher Giampietro. They find their quarters in the former juvenile bureau.
January 05, 2008: The New Year has its’ first fatal accident. A 39 year old Monmouth Junction man died early in the morning after he lost control and hit a tree on Deans Rhode Hall Road.
January 09, 2008: The new gas pumps are installed. The installer states the “new” system is 15 years old. According to the installer for about $15,000.00 more the township could have purchased a trouble free “gas-station system” guaranteed for life.
February 08, 2008 was the day Sergeant Alan Sondej was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and PFC Leonard Hibbitts and Detective Robert Carinci were promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
On April 25, 2008 it was announced that the department was chosen to receive an award for it’s’ participation in the NJ Law Enforcement Challenge. The department was awarded first place in New Jersey for a Level 7 agency. Level 7 is a designation for agencies that have between 66 and 100 sworn members. The Law Enforcement Challenge is an innovative program that provides an avenue to stimulate traffic law enforcement in a police agency. The program targets three major traffic safety priorities: occupant protection, impaired driving and driving while intoxicated. The department’s application was reviewed and a national panel of judges determined that our agency is the best in our class.
On April 29, 2008 at 10:17pm the Thermal Imager pays big dividends. A missing an endangered juvenile was located in a field in need of immediate medical attention. Sergeant Karpiscak quickly located the child through the use of the imager. The imager has been used on a daily basis in all aspects of patrol work.
May 13, 2008: It took awhile, but after almost 42 years, Ptl. John Gurnovich was formally memorialized on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. this night during the 20th Annual Candlelight Vigil. The inscription of John Gurnovich’s name on the wall was spurred on when Ptl. Dale Owens met Dan Hennesy, a Bridgewater police officer last fall. Hennesy is married to Gurnovich’s granddaughter and asked Owens why Gurnovich’s name was not on the wall. The only information to this date that our agency had was that Ptl. John C. Gurnovich died of a heart attack (see May 30, 1966). This information was obtained through newspaper articles of the day. Research by Departmental Historian, Sergeant Jeff Karpiscak shows the police report missing from microfilmed records stored in the Middlesex County Archives Vault. Other police reports prior to and after the date of the incident exist, but this specific one cannot be located. Former Chief Frank College and partner of Gurnovich was contacted and provided a vivid account of the actual incident. On May 30, 1966 Ptl. Gurnovich responded to the Kendall Park bowling alley on Route 27 to investigate a disturbance. Upon arrival, he found two groups of men, one from Trenton and the other from New Brunswick, engaged in a fight. Gurnovich was punched in the chest and struck with a metal pipe as he broke up the scuffle. He went back to headquarters to file the report and began to suffer chest pains. He suffered a heart attack and was taken to Princeton Medical Center where he died on June 12, 1966 at the age of 51. The application to have Gurnovich memorialized in Washington was mostly based upon College’s account. College was happy to hear Gurnovich was getting the recognition he deserved. “This is fantastic and long overdue. John will always be in our hearts and our minds. There was no type of national organization back then to recognize this type of valor or service,” said College. College said Gurnovich, like many other officers on the force at that time, did a lot of work at police headquarters that went unrecognized. “Many of the tasks that needed to be done, we just did ourselves without monetary compensation, on our own time. John came in on a Saturday to help panel the entranceway. He built the console for our radio system. That’s the way we did things back then,” said College.
June 17, 2008 was the day Dominick DeLucia was sworn in as a police officer. The ceremony took place at 1500 hrs in the municipal building main meeting room. “Rick” is 26 years old, from South Brunswick and has a Criminal Justice Degree from Ramapo College. He attended the Somerset County Police Academy and was selected from the Alternate-Route Program.
On September 30, 2008 the agency advised all employees that CPLIMS was shutting down for good and that the program will no longer be available to anyone. All the previously stored data from February 9, 1984 through October 31, 2007 would have to be obtained through the Legacy Database.
On October 8, 2009 Deborah Krypel retired with twenty-five of service.
On October 22, 2008 the department was given final approval and awarded accreditation status. A formal presentation was done on October 28, 2008 at 7:30pm during the township council meeting. The Chief handed out engraved, lock bladed knives to all personnel as a token of appreciation for a job well done.
Bruce Feldman was hired as PST on February 5, 2009. Bruce previously served as a member of our Auxiliary Police Unit.
On March 1, 2009 Captain Mark Montagna and Sgt. Jeffrey Karpiscak retired after twenty-five years of service. Many thanks to Sgt. Karpiscak for all his hard work researching and maintaining the department’s history.
On March 1, 2009 Marla Kaser resigned from the police department Records Bureau to pursue a new career.
On April 1, 2009 Tele-Communicator Julie Weiler retired with twenty-years of service.
On June 13, 2009 Marie Distasio was hired as a PST.
On July 1, 2009 Sgt. William Grischuk retired with twenty-five years of service.
On August 1, 2009 Sgt. Michael Kushwarra retired with twenty-five years of service.
Four officers were promoted to the rank of sergeant on October 16, 2009: John Klemas, Kenneth Drost, Dale Owens and James Ryan.
December 2, 2009 saw the addition of three new officers to the department: Gagan Chopra, William Merkler and Brady Shelcusky.
On December 31, 2009 Sgt. Kevin O’Brien, Det. Joseph Halmi and PST Margret Gorsky retired after of 25 years of service.
Sgt. Scott Hoover retired on February 1, 2010 after 32 years of service.
Ralph Basile was hired on May 3, 2010 as a full time Public Safety Telecommunicator after serving as a part time PST.
On April 1, 2010 four members of our agency retired. Lt. Scott Williams (30 Years of service) Sgt. Andy Hubbard (30 Years of service), Sgt. Lloyd Oertel (26Years of Service) and Information Management Supervisor Sharon Zeltakalns (32 Years of service).
Captain Gary Luck retired on September 1, 2010 after 30 years of service.
On September 17, 2010 five officers were promoted to fill the void created by the retirements from earlier this year. Robert Carinci was promoted to Lieutenant, Christopher Giampietro to Sergeant, Scott Reeves to Sergeant, Michael Rogers to Sergeant and Frank Lombardo to Sergeant.
Sgt. Hugh McNeil retired on December 31, 2010 after 30 years of service.
Captain Harry J. Delgado retired on February 1, 2011 after over 30 years of service.
Sgt. Scott Bevensee retired on April 1, 2011 after 28 years of service.
On May 27, 2011 four officers were promoted to fill the void created by retirements: Edward George to the Rank of Captain, James Stoddard to the rank of Lieutenant, Donald Varga and Rick Schwarz to the rank of Sergeant.
In the five days from August 27 to August 31 our community was severely impacted by Hurricane Irene. During that time period there were 947 calls for assistance to the South Brunswick Police Department. All the major roadways through the Township were rendered impassable at some point in time during the storm. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 residents lost power during the storm. The majority had their power restored by August 31st. Officer staffing levels were doubled to allow maximum coverage during the storm. The Emergency Operations Center was required to be operational for the longest period of time in the past ten years.
Captain Patrick Owens retired on October 1, 2011 after 27 years of service.
On November 4, 2011 four officers were promoted to fill the void created by retirements: Robert Carinci to the Rank of Captain, John Mcnamara to the rank of Lieutenant, Michael LaPoint and Jeffrey Russo to the rank of Sergeant.
Sgt. Patrick O’Brien retired on December 1, 2011 after 26 years of service.
On December 13, 2011 four new officers were sworn in at a Township Council meeting. Jamal Benbow was previously a police officer in Patterson, Timothy Hoover is a life long Township resident and son of retired Sgt. Scott Hoover, Michael Ngo was previously a police officer in Trenton and Ricardo Moreira.
FOR ADDITIONAL HISTORY AND FUTURE UPDATES, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS OUR ANNUAL REPORTS.
I would like to thank:
The entire South Brunswick Police Department
Chief Fred Holsten ret. (1933 – 1960) (1962 – 1974)
Chief Frank Simmons ret. (1974 – 1987)
Chief Frank College ret. (1987 – 1994)
Chief Michael Paquette (1994 – 2005)
Chief Raymond Hayducka (2005 –)
Captain Patrick J. Owens (1984 – 2011)
Sgt. Michael Duca ret.
Ptl. Frank Lombardo (1995 –
Ptl. Paul Wilson (Special 1950’s – 1960’s)
PSTS Louis Braconi (2006 – 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGrady
Bobbie Boekhout (South Brunswick Personnel)
Author Sheree Alexander-West
South Brunswick Public Library
The Star Ledger
The Home News and Tribune
The Central Post
The Sentinel
This site is modified periodically.
Sgt. Jeffrey Karpiscak # 45
Updated January 2012 – Lt. Joseph Charmello
THE HISTORY OF THE SOUTH BRUNSWICK POLICE DEPARTMENT ©
COPYRIGHT 2008 SGT. J. KARPISCAK SBPD #45
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THIS MATERIAL WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
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Raymond J. Hayducka
Chief
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