Michael D. Paquette will be retiring as police chief, 11 years after his appointment.
By: Joseph Harvie
After 27 years on the force and 11 years running the show, Police Chief Michael D. Paquette announced his resignation Tuesday morning surprising many police officers, personnel and the mayor.
Chief Paquette’s last day will be March 31, and his yet-to-be-named replacement will begin April 1, the chief said. Chief Paquette earned $135,000 a year.
The chief’s announcement was made on the 11th anniversary of his appointment by the mayor and then-Township Committee.
Chief Paquette said he has enjoyed his job and the men and women he worked with over the years. But he said that now he would like to focus more time on his wife, Nancy, who works as the township recycling coordinator, and their three daughters, Susan, Linda and Michelle.
"I am exploring a number of different options," Chief Paquette said. "I enjoy playing golf, so the date of my retirement is optimal for that. I will make a decision in the near future as to what I will do."
Chief Paquette moved to Brunswick Acres from Queens in New York City in 1972 and attended South Brunswick High School during his junior and senior years, graduating in 1974.
While at the high school Chief Paquette was a member of the National Honor Society and the wrestling team.
After the finale of his junior year wrestling season, he got a part-time job working at ShopRite on Route 27 in Kingston, where he met his wife.
"She worked there," Chief Paquette said. "She was a cashier and I was a stock boy. She was a junior and I was out of high school, I was 19 when we first met."
Following high school, Chief Paquette attended Trenton State College and joined the South Brunswick Police Department in March of 1978. Chief Paquette also graduated from the FBI National Academy in 1993.
"I attended the 173rd session of national academy from April to June of 1993," Chief Paquette said. "Only 1 percent of (policemen and women) from around the world get a chance to go to the academy, it is a prestigious academy. It was an honor to be selected and it was a wonderful experience."
Chief Paquette held many ranks as a member of the South Brunswick Police Department. He was hired in as a patrol officer in 1978, became a corporal in1984, made sergeant in 1987, and in January 1989 he was named a captain before being sworn in as chief on Jan. 4, 1994.
He said during his time on the force, he has watched as the population in South Brunswick has grown, and with it, the police force as well. When he started, the department had 30 members answering 3,000 calls a year. Today, there are 81 officers on the force answering about 45,000 calls a year, Chief Paquette said.
Chief Paquette said he has been around the state and across the country and has met and visited many police departments. But he said he has yet to visit one that matches up with South Brunswick.
"There is a relationship between the Police Department and the public that is not surpassed by any other force in the state," Chief Paquette said.
"People still think of South Brunswick as a rural farm community, when it is actually a vibrant suburban community that deals with the good things and the bad things that come with that," Chief Paquette said.
Seeing the township and police force grow, and maintaining a community spirit is one of his greatest accomplishments, he said.
He said he hopes to see that relationship continue with his successor. Chief Paquette said he has recommended Deputy Chief Frederick Thompson for the job. Chief Paquette said the decision as to who will become the new chief is up to the township manager, Matt Watkins.
"He is the deputy chief and it is a natural selection and a natural progression," Chief Paquette said. "He has all the qualities to be a success."
Chief Paquette said Deputy Chief Thompson was an easy choice because he is passionate and caring about his current job.
Chief Paquette’s role as a law enforcement officer did not stop in South Brunswick.
In 1994 Chief Paquette served under the U.S. Justice Department as police adviser in Somalia and trained international police monitors for Haiti.
Chief Paquette said he trained Somalians who wanted to be on the police force while there in 1994. He said he got the opportunity to go overseas through a friend he met at the National Academy who worked for the Justice Department.
"It’s really just like you would see on TV," Chief Paquette said. "We were in a compound and we were not allowed to leave. There was gunfire constantly. It was a war zone."
Besides police work, he has also been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Middlesex County College.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said the township was stunned by the chief’s announcement and will miss the great things he has done for South Brunswick.
"Certainly we are going to miss him," Mayor Gambatese said. "He has done a great job in South Brunswick. Our Police department is one of the finest in the area and it is a police department that responds to the community and the community is sorry to see him go."