History Of Department

Dover Township changed its name to Toms River on November 14, 2006
Listed below is the history of the Dover Township Police Department, now known as the Toms River Police Department

The history of the Toms River Police Department can be traced back to January 1, 1917 when Walter Irons was appointed the first Dover Township Police Officer. Irons was paid $20.00 per month. R.C. Buckwalter was appointed as an extra without pay. In December 1922 Henry Dunham was appointed as the second regular Dover Township Police Officer. Walter Irons was appointed to Chief of Police.
          

On June 23, 1933 the Township of Dover passed an ordinance establishing the Dover Township Police Department. The reason for the ordinance was it was necessary for the officers to be able to join the State Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. This also enabled the officers to receive benefits if they were injured or killed while on duty. At the time, Dover Township Police Department consisted of three regular Officers, Jack Costa, Delmar Johnson and Donald Grover. Henry Dunham, no longer a police officer, was the Chairman of the Police Committee. Chief Irons passed away three months before the ordinance was adopted. The population of the town was about 6000.

Dover Township Police Department 1935


In 1938 the Township of Dover abolished the position of Chief of Police. Then - committeeman Elwell, chairman of the police department, decided upon a reorganization of the police department. It was Elwell’s opinion that a department the size of Dover Township Police did not need a police chief. Del Johnson had held the title of Chief for four years when the committee named Officer Alex Taylor “Officer in Charge”. This would only last a short time and Del Johnson would again be named Chief of Police.

Dover Township Police Department 1940 with New Patrol Car
 

The department would get its first new patrol car on Jan. 14, 1940. The car was a brand new Plymouth coupe. The department would see a second new patrol vehicle in 1945. In 1947 a patrolman made $2,200 annual salary. A Sergeant made $2,300 and the Chief made $2,400 annual salary. On March 6, 1947 Chief Delmar Johnson died. Sgt. Donald Grover was appointed to Chief.

By 1951 D.T.P.D. had five regular officers. On May 15, Sgt. Richard Clement became the first man to be appointed to the rank of Captain.
           

In December of 1958 the department had about 17 men. The State Policeman’s Benevolent Association granted Dover Township a charter of their own, Local #137. Prior to the charter the officers belonged to Local #106 with other local police departments.

Dover Township Police Department 1946

Dover Township Police Department 1950

Dover Township Police Department 1951
 
           
            By the early 1960's the department had grown to 22 men and six patrol cars. The population of the town had grown to about 20,000 people.
          

In 1961 the FBI rated the Dover Township Police Department as the second best department in the state of New Jersey. The department grew with the population and added the Detective Bureau in 1962. The Juvenile Bureau and the Traffic Safety Bureau were begun in 1963. The beachfront area of the township has always attracted a lot of vacationers. Along with the visitors came the need for increased police service. District Two would become the department’s first sub-station when it opened in a section of the Ocean Beach Firehouse. In June of 1963 the department changed their uniforms from white on blue to gray on blue, along with the Stetson campaign type hat. A new department patch was adopted later that same year.
          

By the mid 1960's the department had grown to a 38-man force and was hoping to get to 46 men. It had seven marked patrol cars, two unmarked detective cars, one safety car and one 4 wheel drive Jeep. On July 15, 1965 Capt. Clement was appointed to the rank of Deputy Chief, becoming the first man in the department to hold the rank. By 1966 the department had grown to 48 men while the township population grew to about 40,000 people. The starting salary was $5,300 and after four years of service grew to $6,200 annually. The department established its third sub-station, District Three in the Silverton section of the township.


Dover Township Police Department 1964

Chief Donald Grover retired from the police department on March 1, 1967, after 37 years of police work. Deputy Chief Clement is appointed to Chief of Police. On March 2, 1967 the department approved its second new patch for the uniform. It is a 200th anniversary township patch. Officer Ken Lloyd designed the patch in honor of the township's 200th Anniversary. On May 15 the rank of Staff Sergeant was created and Sgt. William Reed was promoted to the position. On June 27, Sgt. Edwin Applegate became First Sergeant by a township resolution. It is the only time the ranks would be used.

In November 1967 Chief Clement was at Robert Miller Airpark in New Jersey waiting for his stepson, Michael Powell. He noticed a US Flag on the tail of a landing plane and got an idea. He began placing small American flags on the fenders of the township police cars. In December 1967 he started the "Support America Campaign". DTPD became the first police department to place American flags on the fenders of the police cars. It would later spread through out the country.

Dover Township Police Department 1967

In 1969 the department was featured in the New York Sunday Times and the Law and Order police magazine. On May 25 an article entitled "New look for Policemen" appeared in the Times. It showed Chief Clement wearing the blue blazer uniform. The August issue of Law and Order magazine featured a story on the uniforms. The cover had a photo of Chief Clement in the blue blazer, Officer Charles Thieman in the patrol uniform and Capt. William Reed in the jump suit.
 

A second article appeared on pages 92 and 93 of the same issue. The article, "Shooting by Instinct", told of Captain Carlino, the range officer at the time, and what he called a "Quick Kill" method. The idea was to use hand and eye coordination, point at the target without using sights. The men would train with Daisy air rifles. The reason was it was cheap and the techniques were the same for a BB gun or shotgun.

In 1970 Headquarters moved from 118 Horner Street to a temporary location on Hooper Avenue. The department would be housed there until the Law Enforcement Center, which was being built, was complete. On June 23, 1970 Sergeants Ray Roncin and Tony Raymond went to Culver City California. Chief Clement had been in Culver City in 1969 and met with Culver City Chief Eugene Mueller. They came up with the idea of a police exchange program and the Jaycees of both towns sponsored the program called “Hands Across The Nation”. Sgt. Roncin and Off. Raymond met with the Culver City Officers in St. Louis Missouri to participate in a parade opening the National Jaycees Convention. After the convention Sgt. Roncin and Off. Raymond continued to California and Sergeant Richard Ostler and Officer George McWherter came from Culver City to Dover Township. The officers spent a month with the host department. The idea was to provide each department with a working knowledge of the other department's activities and promote cooperation between police departments.
             

Portable radios would become standard equipment in June of 1972. This allows the patrol officer to get out on foot to check businesses and meet with the citizens and not miss any radio calls.
           

In July of 1973 Assembly Bill #2156 appointed Dorothy Stevens the first female full time regular officers, which was signed by Governor William Cahill. Dot Stevens would be assigned to the Juvenile Bureau and later to the Detective Bureau.
           

Dover Township Police became one of the first in the state and probably the country when they issued Colt .45 ACP handguns to the members of the Tactical Squad in 1974. The weapons would later be issued to all the patrol officers.
           

In August of 1975 the Law Enforcement Center opened on Oak Avenue. At that time it was a state of the art facility. The department had 102 regular officers. A patrolman’s salary was $15,535 annually.  Chief Clement retired on April 7th, 1979 and on June 12th George Yetman was appointed as the fifth Chief of Police.
  

In 1980 the department had 116 officers and about 60 vehicles, including Ford and Chrysler patrol cars. Thomas Walton was appointed Chief of Police on December 21, 1982. By the mid 80’s the department still had only 116 officers with an annual salary of $18,000.
           

In 1986 the first four officers were selected to begin training as K-9 handlers. The original four officers and their K-9’s were Kent Shuebrook and Tiger, Daniel Teymant and Zeus, Larry Clayton and Sandy, Kevin Reilly and Kane.
           

In 1989 the department had 127 officers with an annual salary of $21,000. That same year the patrol vehicles were equipped with Mobil Data Terminals or “MDT’s”. This allowed the officer to run stolen vehicle checks as well as get registration and drivers license look-ups with out contacting communications and tying up the radio with non-emergency transmissions. On July 27, 1989 Albert Lecuyer was appointed as the Chief of Police.
 
By the early 1990’s the department had grown to 137 officers when the township placed a freeze on hiring any more police officers. District One was expanded another 72,000 square feet at a cost of 1.5 million dollars.
           

On November 1, 1992 Lt. Michael Mastronardy was appointed to the position of Chief of Police. In 1993 the department implemented a bicycle patrol. The bike was used to get around in the down town area. Officer Frank Chernesky was the first officer to have the assignment. It would be Officer Chernesky’s assignment until his retirement. The bike patrol would later grow to include numerous officers in different areas of the township. In 1994 the department replaced the Colt .45 ACP with the Heckler and Koch USP .40 caliber as the new duty weapon.

Dover Township Police Department 1992

By the late 1990's the township had a population of approximately 84,000 people. The township was classified by the state Department of Community Affairs as an urban center or city, much like Trenton, Camden or Newark. The force had dropped down to about 134 sworn officers.
           

In 1998 the department would have its first officer involved shooting which resulted in the death of the suspect.  Officer Richard T. Ross and Officer Ronald Rader responded to a man with a gun call at the Pathmark shopping center at Route 9 and Route 571. The suspect, who was armed with a shotgun, fired a shot at Officer Rader shortly after contact was made. Officer Ross was able to get into a position to see the suspect who had been hiding behind a car in the parking lot. Officer Ross instructed the suspect to put down the shotgun. The suspect turned toward Officer Ross and was leveling the shotgun while pointing it at the Officer. Officer Ross fired two shots, one that struck the suspect, killing him instantly.
    

In 1999 the department adopted the .40 caliber Ruger semi automatic rifle for use in the patrol vehicles. The weapon would replace the 12 gauge Ithaca pump action shotguns that had been used for over twenty years.            

Toms River Police Department
255 Oak Avenue
Toms River, NJ 08754
732-349-0150