A Changing of the Guard in Berkeley

It was no secret all this year that longtime Police Chief John C. Weinlein III was planning to step down soon. The question was when.

When asked by Berkeley Patch in January about rumors his retirement was imminent, Weinlein joked "Nobody told me."

But early this month he made it official. He told Mayor Jason J. Varano his last day after 34 years on the job would be July 31.

So Varano called for the certified Civil Service list with the scores of the five police officers who had taken the test for chief. Number one on the list was Lt. Karen T. DiMichele, currently commander of the night patrol shift. DiMichele was not only the top scorer in the department, she was first in the state.

Varano and other administration officials interviewed the top three candidates earlier this week, reviewed their files and discussed the choice with the Township Council's public safety committee.

The mayor settled on DiMichele after reviewing her test score, coupled with her education and 16 years experience on the force, he said.

So he called her at 8 a.m. this morning with the news that she would be Weinlein's successor.

"We feel Lt. DiMichele is the best person to move the Berkeley Township police department into the next generation," Varano said.

"I'm honored for the opportunity," DiMichele said at a roundtable discussion with local media in Town Hall this afternoon. "I did not do this all alone. I had the support of my family and the Berkeley Township Police Department. I look forward to bridging the gaps and having more community interaction with the police department."

DiMichele's score on the Civil Service test was 92.5 out of 100. Richard W. Casagrand was second with 87.2, followed by Robert A. Andrews, 86.9, Curtis E. Drumhiller, 79.1, and Christian Roth, 78.04.

She began her career in the department in 1995 as a patrol officer in the patrol division. She was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the patrol division, where she served from 2001 to 2007. She has been a lieutenant in the patrol division since then.

"I spent most of my time in the patrol division," she said. "I'm currently in charge of the night patrol division."

DiMichele, a 1989 graduate of Central Regional High School, is a Berkeley native.

"I grew up in the township," she said. "I have very deep roots in the township."

She lives in town with her husband Thomas, a patrol officer in the Toms River Police Department, and their six-year-old twin girls.

She graduated from Monmouth University in 2001 with a masters degree in criminal justice. She graduated from Adelphi University in May 1993 with a degree in business administration.

DiMichele said she will sit down next week to decide how to best organize the 66-officer police department, down from 76 officers several years ago.

"We are going to have to do the best with what we have," she said.

She also plans to focus on traffic safety problems in the township.

"Traffic issues will be addressed," DiMichele said. "It will be a priority."

 Weinlein attended the roundtable this afternoon.

"I'd like to thank the people of Berkeley Township for the opportunity to serve them for the last 34 years," Weinlein said. "I've certainly enjoyed my time here in Berkeley Township. I'm certainly going to miss being a police officer, but the pressures and responsibilities of being a police chief, I'm not so sure I'm going to miss that."

Varano made the appointment despite the Republican-controlled Township Council's July 26 introduction of an ordinance that would give the council more input into the selection of the next chief.

The amendment to the current ordinance introduced Tuesday night calls for the "advice and consent" of the council in the police chief selection.

"Said appointment shall not take effect unless and until such time as Advice and Consent has been provided by the Council," the ordinance states. "If the Council rejects the nomination of the Appropriate Authority, the Appropriate Authority shall submit a new nominee for the council's consideration."

Council members in January introduced an ordinance that would have transferred authority over the police department from the township administration to the Township Council.

The council later tabled the ordinance so more "stakeholders" could be consulted, Council President Karen Davis said then.

Varano in January accused the council of trying to politicize the department and called the ordinance an attempt to "grab power."

Township Attorney Patrick Sheehan said today even if the amendment to the current ordinance was adopted, it wouldn't take effect until sometime in mid-August, after Varano had already made the police chief appointment.

Council Vice-President Carmen J. Amato, who wrote both of the ordinance amendments, today congratulated DiMichele on her new appointment. Amato is challenging Democrat Varano this November for the four-year mayoral term.

"Today is Chief DiMichele's Day," Amato said. "I wish her the best of luck. I look forward to working with Chief DiMichele in her new capacity." 

About 30 uniformed Berkeley police officers waited in the council meeting room downstairs. When DiMichele appeared, she got a round of applause and hugs.