Female officer was the best candidate
By: Cara Latham
PLUMSTED While she may be good at chasing car thieves and saving drowning victims, Sue DesMarais also is a very outgoing "people person," according to Mayor Ron Dancer.
In other words, perfect for the job as Plumsted’s newest and first female police officer.
Special Officer DesMarais, who was sworn in at the March 7 Township Committee meeting, is doing a lot of foot patrols in the downtown business district. Shoppers and business owners can expect to see her walking in and out of the stores, helping pedestrians cross the streets and patrolling the park and nearby lots, Mayor Dancer said.
And her appointment turned out to be a timely one the township is also in the midst of celebrating Women’s History Month.
"She was the best qualified candidate, and she just happened to be a woman," Mayor Dancer said. "I think that she’ll be a great asset to the downtown. Everyone is very pleased with having her on board."
And she’s got the experience to prove it.
Officer DesMarais, 35, graduated from the Monmouth County Police Academy in 1997, and went to work as a police officer in 1998 in Long Branch, where she received some commendations.
After her father’s recent death, Officer DesMarais moved to nearby Jackson to be closer to her mother, and decided to apply for the Plumsted Police Department position.
"I wanted to stay close to home," she said.
While in Long Branch, Officer DesMarais was recognized for her foot pursuit of a suspect who attempted to steal a car. Officer DesMarais said she injured herself as she chased the thief over a fence when her gun snagged on the fence, and she fell over the other side onto a large tree stump.
But even more impressive to township officials was her prior experience working in a downtown business district similar to Plumsted’s, said Mayor Dancer.
Mayor Dancer noted Officer DesMarais received a commendation for helping to save a drowning man.
The near-tragedy occurred one summer when a man was installing a boat rack from a small, floating dock, Officer DesMarais said.
One of the beams fell off and hit him on the head and he fell into the water. Some fishermen were able to get him out of the water, and Ms. DesMarais placed him back onto the floating dock and realized that he had no pulse and was not breathing. She then started performing CPR.
She then called for the state police marine unit because she realized she needed to get him out of the water. When they arrived, she was able to place him in their boat and start doing some abdominal thrusts, which forced a lot of water out of his lungs, and enabled him to breathe again.
Ms. DesMarais said she was glad to have saved the 35-year-old man, whose son was watching the whole incident.
"That was a good one," she said when asked if it was one of her proudest moments.
The township needed to hire another officer as a requirement of a $525,000 Neighborhood Preservation Program grant it received a couple years ago from the state Department of Community Affairs toward revitalizing the downtown New Egypt business district. Part of that grant requires that there be a community policing program in the business district.
The five-year grant gave the township $125,000 last year. For this year, and the following three years, the township will receive $100,000. This year’s portion will go toward that program, which has two important parts establishing a police substation in the downtown area, and hiring an officer to patrol there.
The township had advertised for the position, reviewed resumes, and conducted interviews, Mayor Ron Dancer said Monday.
"When we were completed with the interviews, the best qualified individual for this community police program was (Sue) DesMarais," he said.
Officer DesMarais will be starting out working part-time for 34 hours a week at a rate of $14 per hour. Depending on future funding, perhaps even from the grant program, she could be appointed to full-time, Mayor Dancer said.
Officer DesMarais, who has been on the job now for close to a month, said she likes the job so far and that it entails a lot of dealings with business owners and their concerns.
"It’s great," she said. "I’m looking forward to it, and I’m glad to be working with a good bunch of guys."
She was also appointed, however, to two other positions as the official municipal court officer and as the "police matron." This means she is responsible for conducting searches and pat downs when a suspect is taken into custody, Mayor Dancer said. For every session of municipal court she works, she will earn $75, and if she is called in while off-duty to perform her responsibilities as police matron, she will be paid $45 for that call, Mayor Dancer said.
He said the township was "fortunate" to have such a well-qualified officer for the job.

