By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
With former Chief Robert Buchanan retired, two lieutenants are in control of the department and running the day-to-day operations of the police in Princeton Township.
Lt. Christopher Morgan has been with the township for more than 12 years and two years at Mercer County sheriff’s office. He rose through the ranks, starting as a patrol officer.
With an older brother as a role model, he always wanted to be a police officer.
”My brother is a retired police officer and growing up listening to his different experiences and the positive impact he was able to have on the community had a great influence on me becoming a police officer,” said Lt. Morgan during a Monday morning interview. “I absolutely love what I do. It’s the ability to come to work every day and know that you can have a positive impact on people and you can change lives for the better.”
Lt. Morgan, of Robbinsville, has a criminal justice degree from Trenton State College, a master’s degree in human resources training and development from Seton Hall University and is graduate of the FBI Academy.
He is the father of two young children and coaches his sons’ T-ball team.
After beginning his career with a very short stint as a police dispatcher, Lt. Robert Toole, who wanted to be a professional firefighter, jumped at the chance to go to the police academy and eventually became an officer in his home town. He has been giving back to Princeton for many years, serving on the fire department in the Hook and Ladder Fire Company for 32 years.
”It was a good thing to give back to the community and help people,” he said. “It was a natural progression, I never planned on being a police officer, but the firefighting led me into the law enforcement profession because there were more jobs available at the time. There were very limited paid firefighter positions at the time.”
Twenty-six years later, he is in the number two spot within the department.
Lt. Toole, now a Lawrenceville resident, has an associates in criminal justice from Mercer County College, a bachelor’s from Rider University and a bachelor’s from Fairleigh Dickenson University in police administration.
He is the father of three children.
One challenge the two leaders will have to overcome is the loss of personnel. The department began the year with 28 officers and then a new patrolman left, followed by the retirement of Chief Buchanan. The township has decided to put off hiring until further notice because of the consolidation of the Princeton Township and Princeton Borough police departments.
”Any change in leadership is not about one person, it’s about the entire organization coming together to shoulder the burden of that personnel,” said Lt. Morgan. “We look at it as a challenge.”
Consolidation itself is a large challenge and they two departments have been working closely with the governing bodies and the Transition Task Force.
First on their to-do list is to draft a list of goals and meet with the rest of the department to explain their strategies to move the organization forward with the same level of service the public is used to, said Lt. Morgan.
One of the goals is to increase communication with the community by using social media such as Facebook and Twitter more.
”Communication from the police department to the community it serves is essential,” said Lt. Morgan. “It provides up-to-date and accurate information and the way technology is now, it’s the wave of the future and information can be communicated immediately.”
Lt. Toole will be responsible for overseeing the patrol division, the traffic bureau, training, scheduling and attending meetings.
Lt. Morgan will oversee day-to-day operations as commanding officer.
The township police are continuing with their community focused policing. They are planning their annual Night Out, a bike rodeo and cop camp in the coming months.
Any other staffing changes, such as promotions, will be made by the Township Committee.
