on her own.
“She makes a decision and doesn’t second-guess herself,”
Tolomeo describes. “She’s always been very capable of doing the
job and being a natural leader.”
Local 173 State Delegate Dan Dugan would also describe Tier-
nan as a natural role model, as she was one of the officers he looked
up to while growing up in Woodland Park. Dugan’s memories of of-
ficers like Tiernan coming into his class in uniform for D.A.R.E. are
what inspired him to become an officer in his hometown.
When Dugan was transferred to WPPD in 2012, Tiernan had al-
ready climbed the ranks to captain. Working with Tiernan allowed
Dugan to get to know the officer he grew up with in a new way, as
she remained one of his role models on the job.
“I know everybody is [focused] on her being the first female
chief in Passaic County, and that’s great, but that’s not the real rea-
son that she’s the chief,” Dugan notes. “She’s the chief because she
earned it. She’s the right person for the job.”
Remember the chief
On the morning of June 29, about a month after Tiernan’s pro-
motion, she was enjoying a much-needed day off when her phone
started ringing and buzzing with urgent messages. There was a
bomb scare at Berkeley College, which has a campus in Woodland
Park. When she was captain, she would have left the chief to han-
dle the response. But now, she was the chief — and her officers
were responding to a serious threat.
“It’s on you now” is how Tiernan describes the difference she
felt as she ditched her plans for the day and quickly rushed to the
scene. “You’re the one that has to make sure everything gets done.
You’re always on the clock.”
Upon Tiernan’s arrival, she was proud that her officers had al-
ready taken steps to secure the scene by evacuating the building
and setting up perimeters. The incident reminded Tiernan of what
a strong team she is working with – a team that inspires her to be
the best leader she can in order to give officers the opportunity to
Chief Eileen Tiernan will be the first female added to the Woodland Park Me-
morial located at the entrance of the police department.
be successful on the job.
“We’ve got to take care of each other,” Tiernan stresses. “We work
holidays together, weekends together, blizzards together, homi-
cides together…These are the people who you go to the diner with
for Thanksgiving when you can’t be with your family. We’ve got to
have each other’s back. We’re all important here.”
And it’s true — it takes a village to get the job done. But years
from now, after Chief Eileen Tiernan’s name is added to the WPPD
memorial and a department photo is added to the wall of fame
with Tiernan standing among the ranks, the Woodland Park offi-
cers will always be able to point to the one individual who changed
the department’s history and remember the difference she made
as chief. d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ AUGUST 2018 45