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The authority also named Assistant Chief Steven Rotolo (above, left) of Bergen County as the department’s first assistant chief of counterterrorism.
Inspector Raymond Bryan (above, middle), who headed the World Trade Center Command, was promoted to deputy chief and will oversee ground transportation commands that include PATH, and tunnels, bridges and terminals.
Capt. Ronald Shindel (above, right), who has overseen the George Washington Bridge command, was promoted to deputy inspector and will take over the World Trade Center command.
Replacing Rotolo overseeing the New Jersey air transportation and seaport commands is Assistant Chief Norma Hardy (no photo available).
“Given the high profile of all of our facilities, it’s critical that we provide exceptional leadership for our 1,900-member police force,”Port Authority Chief Security Officer Tom Belfiore said.
“The creation of an Assistant Chief position responsible for coordinating counter terrorism operations is a key addition to the PAPD,” he added. “I’m confident that these commanders and the others we have in place will provide the oversight we need for one of the leading police forces in the country.”
“These commanders have done an exceptional job in their previous assignments protecting some of the Port Authority’s most important assets,” Port Authority Police Supt. Michael Fedorko said. “I’m confident that their leadership skills and dedication to the job will be major assets as we continue our mission to protect the traveling public.”
Bryan joined the PAPD in 1993 and was assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, a facility he would command 18 years later.
In 2001, Bryan was promoted to sergeant and was transferred to the PAPD-in-residence police academy program in Sea Girt as the integrity control officer. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he was assigned to the rescue and recovery operation at the WTC site. He later returned to the terminal as supervising sergeant over the Youth Services Unit.
Bryan was promoted to lieutenant in 2003 and in May 2011 was promoted to captain and commanding officer of the bus terminal. His last assignment began in November 2013 when he was promoted to inspector and assigned as commanding officer of the WTC site.
Shindel joined the Port Authority in 2013 following a 35-year career in law enforcement and security operations. He retired as an NYPD deputy inspector in 2002 after 20 years on the job, during which time he served as commanding officer of Operation Ground Zero after 9/11.
During his two years with the PAPD, he developed the George Washington Bridge’s suicide intervention protocol, which the authority said has more than doubled the annual lives saved, and also led initiatives that resulted in increases in traffic and DWI arrests at the bridge.
Rotolo, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, has served the past 17 years with the PAPD. He was the operational commander during several major incidents, including Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy and the recent protest marches in New York City.
Hardy is a 24-year Port Authority police veteran who has worked in every agency command. She moved up the ranks to sergeant in 2002, lieutenant in 2006, captain in 2008, inspector in 2011 and Assistant Chief in 2013. She was awarded the Medal of Valor for acts of courage after the WTC 1993 bombing and was named the Officer of the Year in 2014 by the International Association of Women Police.
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