Acting Sheriff Sworn In After Death Of Passaic County Sheriff

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Following the sudden death of Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik on Tuesday, an acting sheriff has officially been sworn in.

On Wednesday, Presiding Judge Darren Del Sardo of the State Superior Court swore in Executive Undersheriff Gary Giardina as Acting Sheriff, according to William Maer, the chief spokesman for the Passaic County Sheriff's Office

Giardina, a Wayne resident, has over 36 years of law enforcement service, including the last decade with the Sheriff's Office.

Giardina began his career as a uniformed patrol officer with the Clifton Police Department before being assigned to the Street Crime and Narcotics Unit, where he remained after being promoted to sergeant.

After being promoted to captain, he was put in charge of the Field Operations Bureau, which included uniform services, patrol, community policing/bicycle, and traffic/motorcycle divisions.

Giardina was appointed to the role of chief in 2010 and retired in 2014. He then joined the Passaic County Sheriff's Office as a business administrator in 2014 and was sworn in as Executive Undersheriff in January 2022.

On Thursday, Maer said that the transition occurred quickly in the wake of Berdnik's death.

Berdnik, a longtime sheriff first elected in 2010, fatally shot himself Tuesday afternoon at a restaurant in Clifton, according to multiple sources. Berdnik was talking with reporters at the Turkish restaurant Toros before he entered the bathroom around 3:30 p.m., according to NorthJersey.com. A gunshot was heard by restaurant customers soon after.

Read More: Passaic County Sheriff Shoots Himself At Local Restaurant: Reports

News of Berdnik's death comes after a particularly difficult month for the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, as two sergeants and a sheriff's officer were arrested on Jan. 17 and accused of beating a detainee at the Passaic County Jail in 2021.

"I am well aware that there is much confusion and stress during this very difficult time in our agency," Berdnik wrote in a memo, adding he would lay off over two dozen sheriff's officers due to the shutdown of the jail.

Berdnik is survived by his wife, Monica Berdnik, a pediatric nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, and their four adult children.

Sheriffs in New Jersey are elected to staggered three-year terms across the state's 21 counties. Berdnik last won the race in 2022, defeating Republican Mason Maher, by 8,000 votes.