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“This is a great victory not only for him but for the township as a whole,” Police Chief Robert Kugler told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Saddle Brook will be well-served with such a professional leader and genuine person.”
With his victory, White must retire before he is sworn in Jan. 1, under state law.
He then becomes Kugler’s boss.
“I welcome it,” the chief said this afternoon. “At the end of the day, if we do disagree, it will be nothing like what went before. It’s not personal.”
White — who soundly defeated Chamberlain by a count of 2496 to 1750 — has a stellar record.
A lifelong township resident, he’s been with the police force 33 years, the last dozen as deputy chief, and served as School Board president.
He has a masters degree in criminal justice, was graduated from the West Point Command and Leadership program as well as the FBI National Academy and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development program.
White also has been chairman of Saddle Brook’s Drug and Alcohol Alliance and Citizens Against Substance Abuse.
The conflict between Kugler and Chamberlain grew so intense that she at one point last year “ordered” him to run any and all information, comments or correspondence to the media through her or the township business administrator first.
It drew the attention of the NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police, which threatened to sue Chamberlain “for interfering with the day-to-day operations of the agency” in violation of the Chiefs Responsibility Act (NJSA 40A:14-118).
It also flew in the face of New Jersey Executive Order 69, which requires public agencies to provide timely information to citizens.
The mayor eventually backed off.
Three years earlier, Chamberlain ordered Kugler to “cease and desist” from dealing with the media – including production of an interactive “Chief’s Chat” online program – unless she approved his remarks in advance.
When the “Chief’s Chat” storm broke two years ago, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli told CLIFFVIEW PILOT in writing that “to require prior approval before a Chief releases information that might be required of him under Executive Order 69 might not be appropriate as it might serve to defeat the intent of Executive Order 69 and probably runs afoul of our Court’s proscriptions in the SHORE V PARAMUS TOWNSHIP case.”
In that case, the courts found that Paramus violated the order by having the township clerk run all public-records requests through the municipal attorney first.
Two years ago, Chamberlain balked because she wasn’t told that CBS National News was reporting from Saddle Brook Police headquarters as part of its coverage of the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Program, an extremely positive initiative that got a lot of unused medications out of cabinets and drawers where innocent children could have found them.
In a previous stint as mayor 13 years ago, Chamberlain directly promoted officers without telling Kugler. Then-Councilman Louis D’Arminio — a former Hackensack detective sergeant who went on to become mayor himself — later insisted Chamberlain remove herself from all police business. She refused.
In 2003, D’Arminio terminated Chamberlain’s daughter from the Saddle Brook Police Department after determining that she was unfit for duty. A state administrative law judge later determined that the officer, Kimberly Perrelli, should be considered retired instead of fired, restoring her pension eligibility. Perrelli dropped sexual harassment charges she’d lodged against Kugler and others.
Once the shoe was on the other foot, Chamberlain objected to Kugler’s daughter, Shayna, as a township police officer — even though she finished in the top three on the civil service exam.
Kugler has been chief for 20 years. He’s a former president of the New Jersey State Chiefs of Police Association and the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, belongs to the FBI National Academy Associates, and has served on the national and New Jersey DARE Executive Boards.
Kugler recused himself from the hiring process after his daughter decided to face potential opposition and apply to work in the place where she grew up, the town that she and her family love.
Shayna Kugler wrote a piece for CLIFFVIEW PILOT about the experience: Saddle Brook police chief’s daughter thanks officials for chance to become officer
After graduating from the Bergen County Police Academy in June, she joined the ranks of the county Sheriff’s Office.
“All I ever wanted to do is lead our great department in great directions to serve the people of the community,” her father told CLIFFVIEW PILOT today. “[Chamberlain] definitely hindered my ability to be proactive and set us back to a degree these past four years.
“I’m glad to see the return of a cooperative and collaborative relationship between the offices of the mayor and police.”
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