News
RB Police Chief Retiring
By John Burton
RED BANK - With the police chief on vacation until the end of the year, when he plans to retire, the Borough Council's police committee is planning to search for the borough's next top cop.
Borough Councilman Arthur V. Murphy III, who serves as the council's police commissioner, acknowledged on Monday Police Chief Mark F. Fitzgerald, as of last Friday, would be on six weeks vacation and would retire after the vacation time expires, in the beginning of the new year.
"He's been talking about leaving," at Monday's borough council meeting, Murphy said of Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald, 56, a Rumson resident, has been a member of the department for 33 years, having been appointed as chief seven years ago, according to Murphy.
Borough officials had previously eliminated the deputy chief position through attrition, as a cost-saving measure. Now the police committee plans to interview the four current captains on the force to fill the slot, Murphy said. "We will be looking at all the resumés," Murphy said.
In the interim, Captain Stephen McCarthy, a two-decade long veteran, will oversee the department. Fitzgerald had specifically requested that McCarthy handle the responsibility as the committee search for a new chief, Murphy said.
McCarthy heads up the detective bureau's criminal investigation and serves as the department's press officer.
The committee would likely select a successor from within the department's ranks, according to the councilman.
Murphy further acknowledged Fitzgerald had "been interviewing for other positions," in the private sector. On Tuesday, Thomas Paolella, a spokesman for Riverview Medical Center, when asked, confirmed via e-mail that Fitzgerald had been named as the medical center's manager of security services, starting Monday.
"Mark brings with him a proven track record of improving services and safety across a highly populated, diverse community of residents, schools and businesses," Timothy Hogan, Riverview president, said in a released statement, "and we applaud his unwavering years of dedication and commitment to the community of Red Bank."
"He's very thorough in his job," offered Murphy in his assessment of Fitzgerald's performance. "He's respected among his men and respected throughout the county."
Neither the mayor nor any of the council members had mentioned Fitzgerald's retirement during the regular portion of Monday's meeting. It appeared the matter wouldn't have come up if not raised by resident and business owner David Prown during the public hearing portion, prior to adjournment, when he asked about the transition within the department. In response, it appeared Mayor Pasquale Menna was reticent, deferring to Murphy, after the councilman jumped in.
The council's police committee consists of Murphy, and council members Sharon Lee and Michael DuPont. The three will eventually make their recommendation to the council, which will vote on naming the new chief, according to Murphy.
