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No. 15 Vol. 4
H
www.themendhamnews.com
April 2017
Mendham Twp. Swears In New Police Chief
By Jason Cohen e grew up with a passion for helping people and giving back to his community. But, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine being a police chief at age 37.
On March 3, Ross Johnson was sworn in as the new police chief in Mendham Township. Johnson was made acting chief in April 2016 after former Chief Steven Crawford resigned.
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A policeman for just 13 years, Johnson couldn’t be prouder of his success. “It’s incredibly rewarding,” said Johnson. “It’s a huge challenge, but one which I look forward to embracing. All things being equal, I didn’t quite expect to be chief.” Johnson was born and raised in Summit, but moved to Mendham when he was 16. A year later, he joined the Mendham Emergency Squad and Brookside Fire Department. He was active in the EMS for a decade and was a fireman for 17 years. He put his fireman dreams on hold and attended Gettysburg College. After graduating in 2001, he joined the corporate world and sold insurance for a few years. However, he quickly knew this was not for him. “When I started doing it, [firefighting], I fell in love with it,” Johnson remarked. So, he began to apply
for fireman jobs and during that process became a dispatcher in Warren County. This slowly peaked his interest in becoming a policeman. His heart was now drawn to the men in blue. His first choice was to work in Mendham Township and things worked out his way. They selected him and he went through a rigorous six-month academy. “I got blessed because I got promoted in 2008 to sergeant and I got promoted to lieutenant again in 2014,” he said. Johnson told the “Mendham News” his transition from fireman to cop wasn’t difficult because both professions are about serving the community. While there was a learning curve at first, he feels his experience as a firefighter helped him. “I think anybody that does this job, whether a firefighter or policeman, it’s all about helping peo-
ple,” he stressed. The chief noted that Mendham may not have murders like Newark or Camden, but stuff does go on there. It has its share of drug incidents, burglaries and domestic violence calls.
Fortunately, he has never had to use his gun. “We’re not immune to bad people,” he said. “A lot more happens here than most people know.” One area of his job that he takes very seriously is continued on page 3
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