The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 26, Number 7 | Page 23

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2020
Congratulations Chief: Now What?
Chief Joseph H. Eisenhardt, Jr., MPA (Ret.), Barrington Police Department
What was it like on your first day as a police officer? What about the difference from your first day as a recruit to your first day on
the street? What was your first shift like as a newly promoted Sergeant, newly promoted Lieutenant, newly promoted Captain, or
newly promoted Deputy Chief? Did the transition get easier each time or did the reality of the increase in responsibility and
accountability weigh you down?
Have you encountered ranking officers, especially in the higher ranks, who have felt that they are exempt from the rules that lowly
subordinates must adhere to because of their feeling of superiority? This has been referred to as RHIP or rank has its privilege.
Consider how different it felt when you were one of those lowly subordinates if you experienced this vs. how it feels now that you
are not. This is an easy trap to fall into especially if it is a part of the culture of your department. If you think for one second that
the officers in your command (no matter what rank you held at the time) are not closely watching your every move, you are
wrong. Not only did you watch everyone above you, you had strong opinions about what they should have done instead of what
they did. Always remember that no one knows what it is like to sit in your chair until they do, just like you did not know until now.
Hopefully the excitement of new challenges and the opportunity to have more of a positive and lasting impact on the department
brought new energy to sometimes tired bones.
Now you stand before a large crowd of well wishers, family members, friends, other Chiefs, and members of the department you
are about to take the helm of with your spouse holding a Bible and your kids by your side. You place your left hand on the Bible
and raise your right hand while an honored dignitary leads you in the Oath of Office swearing you in as the new Chief of Police.
You hear the words once you are done, "Congratulations Chief" as applause breaks out. Your spouse kisses you, your kids stand
there beaming with pride, you shake hands, you get pats on the back, handshakes, and hugs; and you tear up as the emotion of
the day catches up with you.
After all, you have earned this appointment.
What was it like on your first day as Chief? Moving all of your accumulated stuff into your new office and making sure that you do
everything you can to make it your own? Did you have the office re-painted a new color? Did you order new furniture or just
rearrange what was already there? How long did it take to get all of your stuff out on display or hung on the walls?
How long did it take for you to think "Now What"?
Do you remember the first time you heard the poem "The Dash" which was written by Linda Ellis in 1996? For me it was at a
number of funerals and it was used as part of the eulogy. Ms. Ellis wrote a very poignant piece that references the date of a
person's birth and the date of their death; but what is of utmost importance is that the dash between the dates represents his/her
life. What impacted me most was her way of asking us what will we be remembered for, what we were or who we were? Can you
apply the insights of this poem looking at your police career from your date of hire to your appointment as Chief? What about "The
Dash" between the dates of your tenure as Chief from your appointment up to today?
Have you been able to build on the positive impact(s) previous Chiefs had on the department? Have you been able to steer the
department away from the negative? This becomes even more critical to the health of the department if there has been a scandal
no matter if it involved a patrol officer or your predecessor.
Was your department part of a previous merger/consolidation/regionalization move that seems to have died down? If so, was your
department going to be disbanded or was your department going to absorb another? What was your position on this? What was
your position if adjoining towns were considering this and your department was not directly "involved"?
Since most departments throughout New Jersey are small or medium in size, how well do you know each officer? Do you focus on
the shining stars and the troublemakers while ignoring the bulk of the department in-between?
Are you gradually working yourself out of a job through succession planning for your eventual replacement? Do you support
officers who are working to improve themselves? Do you provide opportunities for others than just the shining stars? Do you find
ways to provide opportunities for the troublemakers because maybe the problem is that they feel like they do not belong?
Then there is promotion time. The multi-faceted and extremely complex effect on the department for years to come is more
significant than a change in local political control. A sergeant promoted today for the wrong reasons could be the next chief. Do
any of your "trouble makers" hold rank that you inherited from a previous administration? If you have already experienced
promotion(s) during your tenure as chief, do you remember how many happy officers there were once the promotion was
announced? Did you have to do damage control for those who did not get promoted especially those who knew better than you
that they should have gotten the nod?
Have you noticed that as you have climbed the ladder in your department that the higher you have gone the need to hold on
becomes more important for maintaining your balance? Also, the higher you are on the ladder means that a fall will hurt worse
than when you were on the first step. That "splat" from hitting the ground will be louder, messier, harder to clean up, and more
damaging to everyone the closer it is from the top.
Do you consider the health of the department, the needs of your community, and potential ethical ramifications during your
decision making processes? Or are you more focused on how a decision you are about to make will affect you?
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