WEST WINDSOR: Township honors retired Police Chief Frank Cox

By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
   Retired Police Chief Frank J. Cox, a fixture of the township police force for four decades, was recognized for his service Monday in a ceremony officially renaming the West Windsor police building in his honor.
   Hundreds of law enforcement officers, local officials and residents turned out as the building on Clarksville Road became the Frank J. Cox Police Facility.
   Current Police Chief Joseph Pica led the elaborate ceremony on Monday, which was marked by a 15-gun salute, a choir and bagpipers.
   Former Chief Cox, 71, was born in Princeton and moved to West Windsor in 1952. He joined the Princeton Township Police Department in 1962.
   Six years later, he joined Chief Frank Maguire to develop the new West Windsor Police Department.
   The former chief served as Chief Maguire’s “right hand man,” Chief Pica said, as they created and developed the department.
   He was promoted to chief himself when Chief Maguire retired in 1980. He served in the top position for 21 years.
   ”Throughout those years, he basically molded this department,” Chief Pica said. “He created this department to his standards, and his standards were pretty high.”
   He left his mark on the department with his “professionalism, integrity and courtesy,” Chief Pica said.
   ”He’s the kind of chief people liked working for,” he said.
   Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, who also spoke at the ceremony, said the gesture was made to show the appreciation of the entire community for his service.
   ”(Under his leadership) it became one of the best police departments in the state of New Jersey,” he said.
   Former Chief Cox found it difficult to retire in 2001, Chief Pica said.
   ”He loved his job so much he didn’t want to leave,” he said.
   The former chief was deeply involved in the planning process of the police building, constructed in 1994, Chief Pica said.
   ”He put his heart and soul into this building,” he said.
   When it was opened, Chief Cox dedicated the building to the department’s first chief. A plaque inside commemorates this dedication to Chief Maguire.
   The building is now dedicated to its first chief, and named after its second.
   ”Together those two guys formed this police department,” Chief Pica said. “They created and molded it. We felt they both should be honored and remembered.”