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A Fort Lee native who attended borough public schools, Hintze replaces outgoing chief Keith Bendul on June 1, Mayor Mark Sokolich announced Thursday night.
Hintze was an excellent choice, the mayor said, because “he has spent many years in management roles in the department and was already a well-known leader in the community.”
The 17-year department veteran is also a borough firefighter and a lifetime ambulance corps member.
Hintze has held several supervisory positions in law enforcement.
As captain, he commanded both the Detective Division and the Internal Affairs Bureau.
As a lieutenant, he commanded the Emergency Services Unit (ESU) and was a training bureau supervisor, Background Investigation Unit supervisor, Communication Center supervisor/911 coordinator and a patrol supervisor.
As a sergeant, Hintze worked in both patrol and the detective bureau and served as a field training officer for recent police academy graduates.
He was also a member of the department’s Emergency Services Unit and is a certified EMT.
Hintze obtained his New Jersey police instructor certification while in patrol, and has maintained certifications as an instructor for firearms, TASER, CPR, use of force, and active shooter response.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Pace University, attended the Rutgers University Certified Public Manager program and is pursuing a Masters degree in administrative science at FDU.
Bendul said he plans to combine his law enforcement experience with the pursuit of a Juris Doctor degree at Pace University Law School, beginning this fall, and practice administrative and employment law while concentrating on police liability.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve our community as the chief of police,” Bendul said at Thursday night’s mayor and council meeting, while personally thanking each officer “for their professionalism, dedicated service to our community, bravery and heroic efforts.”
“The borough of Fort Lee has the finest police department in the county, if not the state of New Jersey,” Sokolich.
“Situated right outside of NYC and positioned by the George Washington Bridge, it’s crucial that we have the very best on patrol," the mayor added, "and Chief Bendul has personally seen to it that we continuously surpass the incredibly high bar set for us. He will be deeply missed.”
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