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Brock began a 32-year career in law enforcement as a River Edge patrolman before transferring to Paramus. He rose steadily through the ranks, negotiating a rocky transition several years back that saw a few different chiefs in a relatively short period of time.
He officially took the top spot on Feb. 22, 2011 after less than three months as acting chief, topping two other candidates in a unanimous vote of the Borough Council.
Brock steps down during another period of transition, as the council looks to revamp its promotional procedures and possibly fill the long-vacant deputy chief’s position.
“We wish him well in his retirement and future endeavors,” Paramus PBA Local 186 said.
Brock, a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., was a proud administrator.
Hours after being among 34 police officers honored by President Obama at a White House ceremony last May, Paramus Detective Rachel Morgan and Officer Ryan Hayo were singled out from the group when the National Association of Police Organizations presented them with the prestigious Citizens Achievement Award at the annual TOP COPS dinner. It made Brock extremely proud.
Morgan was alone on patrol the night of Feb. 6, 2011, when a motorist she tried to pull over took off and crashed his car into a snowbank on Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway. With her gun drawn, she approached the car – and was shot three times. As she lay bleeding, Morgan returned fire.
Hayo arrived almost instantly and continued the battle while getting Morgan to safety. Then, suddenly, it became quiet: The driver had shot himself.
Brock – who made it a point to attend a host of awards events for Morgan and Hayo, both locally and nationwide – had genuine excitement in his voice as he spoke by phone from Washington, D.C. after last spring’s events.
“I couldn’t be more proud. They are both outstanding officers, not only for what they did that night but for how they have handled everything since then,” the chief said.
Brock’s enthusiasm for police work showed in other ways, as well.
He was in the department’s detective bureau one July 2011 afternoon when the police radio crackled with a report of a chase involving two of three men suspected of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of electronic equipment at the Garden State Plaza.
A detective looking out the window saw one of them, and Brock – in Dockers and a polo shirt – bolted out the door. After chasing down the suspect, the chief brought him back to headquarters.
“I just reacted,” he told CLIFFVIEW PILOT a short time later. “Wasn’t thinking of anything except catching the guy…. I don’t think this kid knew I was a chief.”
It was only as the adrenaline receded afterward, Brock said, that he thought about how much he enjoyed working a beat.
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