Consolidation Of Police Chief Position Between Pine Beach And Ocean Gate Comes To An End

When Ocean Gate Police Chief Reece J. Fisher retired in December, he left behind a void in not one, but two small police departments.

Fisher was the chief in not only Ocean Gate, but Pine Beach in one of the very few successful consolidation positions in Ocean County.

Fisher, 50, retired on Dec. 1, and no one in either department was immediately qualified to succeed him, said Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato appointed two captains in his office to fill the void, according to app.com.

Vincent Frulio will serve as acting chief in Pine Beach and Joseph Mitchell as acting chief in Ocean Gate.

Fisher retired after a 29-year career with the Ocean Gate force, said Ocean Gate Mayor Paul Kennedy. He had been serving as chief of the department since 2007.

Fisher began his police career in Seaside Park in May 1986 and moved on to Ocean Gate in November of 1987. He was appointed to the rank of sergeant in November 2004. He was promoted to lieutenant and named officer in charge in after former Chief Darryl Maffia retired. He was named police chief on March 28, 2007.

Fisher had served as chief of the Ocean Gate and Pine Beach police departments, under a shared-services agreement since 2015. The two towns split the cost of his annual salary, which was $150,000 last year, and his benefits.

It’s unclear how long the two departments will be under the direction of the prosecutor’s staff and if they will share a chief in the future. Pine Beach Mayor Lawrence Cuneo estimated it would be a minimum of three months and up to a year that the department will be under Frulio's command until the borough gives a test for the chief's position.

Kennedy said it’s possible a lieutenant on the Ocean Gate force could be placed in charge until someone has the qualifications to become chief. He said a minimum of three years of supervisory experience is needed to qualify for chief. Fisher had headed the department as a lieutenant while he gained the necessary experience to qualify for chief, Kennedy said.

The Pine Beach Police Department has six sworn officers and a secretary, Cuneo said. Ocean Gate has a police sergeant, a detective, five full-time patrol officers, three part-time patrol officers and an administrative assistant, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said he recently appointed Fisher to serve a three-year term as deputy coordinator of the borough’s Office of Emergency Management, which is a non-paid position. Fisher also has applied to become a volunteer firefighter in Ocean Gate, Kennedy said.

Image: Courtesy of Ocean Gate.