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Then-chief Joe Delaney laughed. Now, Guidetti understands why.
“It’s not an easy road to the position,” says the lifelong borough resident, who on Tuesday, June 13 will be sworn in as the Paramus Police Department’s 12th chief.
Since 2013, Guidetti served as the department’s deputy chief to former chief, Kenneth Ehrenberg — who retired last month — and has seen countless changes within the department over the years.
Back when Guidetti started as a PPD patrolman in 1987, officers were given a toolbox containing a firearm, a baton and handcuffs. These days, the “toolbox” has grown to include tools beyond the physical — one of the most important being de-escalation techniques and verbal commands, he said.
For a while, police cars only had AM radios, and officers could only communicate with police headquarters. Sometime while Guidetti was on the job, FM stations were added, and officers could communicate with their counterparts across the state.
In 2002, cameras were installed in police cars. Last January, a state-wide mandate for all officers to wear body-worn cameras took effect.
Just as Ehrenberg and chiefs before him built up the foundation they started with, Guidetti will, too.
His three initiatives for this year? Hiring, promoting, and training; department preparedness for high-risk events; and officer wellness — both physical and mental.
Guidetti's inspiration to go into law enforcement dates back to one summer evening in the 1970s. He was in fifth grade and riding his bike in North Wildwood with his cousin near the beach.
"We saw a guy running with a pocketbook, and a woman screaming," he recalled. "Realizing the guy had stolen the pocketbook from the woman, we start following him on our bikes."
Guidetti and his cousin rode their bikes to the police department, where officers put them in the back of a patrol car and brought them to a home in the neighborhood to identify the suspect.
"We didn't give a great description," Guidetti said. "We just said he was a white man with long hair."
Soon after, his uncle, Anthony Sittineri, showed up. He was a patrolman, and brought Guidetti and his cousin to the backyard. There, adults were huddled under blankets around a fire pit.
"My uncle said to me, 'Okay, which one was it?'"
Guidetti scanned the crowd until he saw something that stood out.
"I looked at one guy’s feet, and he had sand on them," Guidetti recalled. "Because of that, I knew he had run from the beach, and nobody else was at the beach."
That man ended up getting arrested and charged, and the experience never left Guidetti, who began his career with the North Wildwood Police Department as a special officer in 1984. His uncle later retired as the department's chief.
In 1987, Guidetti was hired as a patrolman in Paramus, his hometown, and would go on to climb the ranks. In 1993, Guidetti was assigned as a plainclothes officer to the county's carjack task force.
In 1998, he was awarded the Medal of Honor from the Italian-American Police Society, and the Silver Star Honor Award from the American Police Hall of Fame, after saving the life of another officer.
His first promotion came in 2001, when Guidetti became a detective, helping to launch the PPD's intelligence unit. In 2004 he was promoted to detective sergeant; in 2006 he became a detective lieutenant; in March 2013 he climbed to the rank of captain, serving as the division commander of the detective unit before becoming deputy chief in November 2013.
In his new role as chief, Guidetti hopes he's perceived as a motivator, much like he is in the cycling studio, where he teaches classes twice a week.
"Being a motivator means doing it with your men, standing side-by-side your men," Guidetti said. "You’re leading from within, not from the front."
Guidetti knows he's got a reputation to uphold. It's not uncommon to hear people refer to the Paramus Police Department as the "Premier Police Department." It's just a play on words, but Guidetti says there's meaning behind it.
"It's the way you're treated when you're here," he said. "We treat everyone here as family, and everyone takes care of each other."
Guidetti's brothers are also in law enforcement. Raymond Guidetti is currently the police director of the Hackensack Police Department, while Michael Guidetti is a retired DEA supervising special agent.
"We're a law enforcement family who have supported each other through the years," the soon-to-be chief said.
In his new role as chief, Guidetti says he'll hold a magnifying glass to various areas of the department to see what needs to be moved around and brought into the future, he said.
"With the hospital coming, with more apartments coming to town, the police department is going to need to grow, and we have to grow in the right direction," he said.
Not to mention, the shopping in Paramus alone increases the 28,000-person population to 250,000 people in a matter of hours, Guidetti said.
What he's looking for from his officers is simple, but important. For patrolman, Guidetti preaches a fast response and effective tactics, and for detectives, he wants "relentless" follow-up and assessment.
Besides, Guidetti would never ask anything from his officers that he couldn't do or hasn't done himself. He knows what it takes, and he'll be the first to admit, it's not easy.
But, he said, it led him to where he'll be on Tuesday, June 13.
“Most of the time, we as officers deal with life and death, crime and punishment, rehabilitation,” Guidetti said.
“We’re asked to be doctors, we’re asked to be lawyers, mechanics, plumbers, and therapists. We become the sheep dog of the world and it takes a lot of strength to wear all those hats.
“So, to finally wear all those hats and get to the pinnacle of your career as chief of a great department, you went through a lot.”
He corrects himself.
“I did."
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