Deputy chief nominee hopes to move P.D. forward
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer

EDISON - Lt. Thomas Bryan, commander of the Edison Police Department's internal affairs division and nominee for deputy police chief, has a long history with the force that reaches back through generations.

His father, he said, was an Edison police officer for many years before retiring as a lieutenant and was Bryan's inspiration for becoming an Edison cop himself, an occupation he has now followed for 24 years. In this respect, he can be seen as a figure deeply connected to the department's past.

But at the same time, Bryan, should the Township Council confirm his nomination, said that he wants to be very much a figure that will take the department into the future. He said that he is proud of the police department and the people who work there, noting that there have been many innovative ideas coming from many officers in helping the community, but also acknowledged, several times, that the department had faced "issues" in the past. He expressed an eagerness to instill discipline in the police force as well as maintain a professional decorum among its officers, which he said would require a change in the department's overall culture to accomplish.

"There have been issues in the past with the department, so being part of the leadership team and moving forward to professionalize the police department and show the community that, you know, the officers are proud to wear the badge here and proud to assist them [is] helping to change the culture to get that job done," said Bryan, a careful, deliberative speaker.

Thomas Bryan was born and raised in Edison. Within the police department, he started in radio patrol in the traffic division, and eventually began working in narcotics and vice. After that, he worked on major cases for the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office as an undercover agent, helping to bring drug kingpins to justice. Returning to Edison, he continued working on narcotics and vice cases before moving on to serve as the president of the local PBA, as well as working in the major crimes division. Following this was a brief tenure on patrols before joining internal affairs, a unit he has commanded for 14 years.

If his nomination for deputy chief is confirmed by the council, he will succeed one of the current holders of the position, Ron Gerba, who said that he will retire from the department should Bryan be approved. His potential appointment to the position comes in the wake of a major reorganization of the police department's top command proposed by Edison Mayor Jun Choi. The mayor, during a press conference at the beginning of this month, laid out a plan that would create a civilian police director position that would head the department and direct its policies and named Brian Collier, an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as his choice for this post. Choi, at the same time, named Bryan as his nominee for deputy chief, who would be responsible for running the department and executing the director's broad policy goals. The two would be expected to work closely together, a prospect that Bryan would look forward to.

"I think this is a unique opportunity to lead the police department into the future with Brian Collier, who brings a wealth of resources and skills to the police department that the department hasn't realized in the past, nor the community. So it's just a fantastic opportunity to move forward into the future," said Bryan.

He stated that, as deputy chief, he would be a fair manager, saying that he is a man of integrity with a high code of ethics and he would expect the same from other members of the police department. On a day-to-day basis, he said that he would rely on his command staff and delegate authority to his command staff, empowering them to run their respective departments to the best of their ability. He would also like to refer to them when making decisions, knowing that they would affect large numbers of officers. At the same time, he wants to improve the lines of communications, making sure everyone is "on the same sheet of music."

"I would like to have a more clear-cut line of communication with the command staff, and as the township continues to grow and as the police department branches out into other areas, which would be more innovative than it has in the past, I would look to the command staff to take charge of their respective divisions," said Bryan.

He said that there are some speculative reform plans being worked out, but that it's a little premature to elaborate upon them at the moment.

Under current department regulations, Bryan, as a lieutenant, cannot be promoted to deputy chief, because he would need to spend a number of years in each succeeding rank before moving up. This is why an ordinance that would remove that system, called the "in-grade durational requirement," was proposed by the mayor during the Jan. 22 Township Council meeting. Its passage would allow Bryan to take the position. This proposal led to come concern from members of the council. You could be sergeant on Monday, lieutenant on Tuesday, chief on Wednesday," said council President Robert Diehl during that meeting.

The mayor during that same meeting said that removing the requirements afforded the department more flexibility to allow the most qualified officers to rise to the top. Choi expressed that he didn't feel that many in the top command, at the moment, were the most qualified, saying that he believed the mid-level officers were instead. He also said that the ingrade system was not always there. While Bryan did not express agreement or disagreement with this assessment, he said that he did feel new blood was necessary in the department, something that he feels he and Collier should be able to offer.

"I truly feel the police department needs some new blood, and I have to emphasize that Brian Collier brings a wealth of resources here, and with the leadership team and myself, I am confident that the citizens of Edison will be better served," said Bryan.

Overall, he believes that as a veteran police officer, he has seen the department from the inside out for years, especially with the perspective that commanding internal affairs has given him. Bryan believes this experience will overall allow him to be an effective deputy chief.

"I've lived this. I've been here for 24 years, born and raised in Edison, and I've been here, so I know this culture, I know this department, and again from the perspective of internal affairs, I've seen the worst and I've seen the best, and I firmly believe that this new direction will be in the best interest of the members of the police department and also the citizens of Edison," said Bryan.