Linden to swear in first African American police chief

• Parham was the first African American to hold the rank of police captain in Linden
• He sees training and community policing as among his priorities as chief

LINDEN - Jonathan Parham, a nearly 25-year veteran of the Linden Police Department, will be sworn in Thursday as the new chief of police.

And he brings to the job the distinction of being the first African American to hold that post in the city.

"I'm absolutely honored," said Parham, 47, a city native and graduate of Linden High School. "I realize if a child can look at me and say there's an African American police officer and I'm African American, or I'm a minority, and if he can do it, I can do it. Then there is hope for them, just as there is hope for me."

"That brings a certain amount of pride," said Parham who received well wishes from several people as he stood outside City Hall on Wednesday, a day before his 10:30 a.m swearing-in ceremony at the Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade on Wood Avenue, across from City Hall. He will be joined at the ceremony by his wife and two sons.

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Mayor Derek Armstead said that Parham was the most qualified individual to lead the police department based on experience and credentials. He noted that Parham is a graduate of the West Point Command and Leadership School, has conducted international law-enforcement training in Jamaica and Trinidad, is a member of the Union County Crisis Intervention Training Working Group and has served as the accreditation manager for the Linden Police Department.

"Chief Parham commands the respect of our superior officers and the rank and file. I strongly believe he will move the department forward in a positive direction," Armstead said.

The ceremony also will include the promotions of Capt. Michael Saake, Lt. William Mack, Sgt. Monika Oliveira and Detective Joseph Kaulfers.

Parham said the biggest burden of the new job is that he's just a man.

"I'm not perfect. I'm not the savior of Linden. I'm not the super hero that's going to fly in and fix everything," he said. "I'm just a man that wants to get additional ideas from everyone, and bring everyone together and figure out how we're going to do this."

"Follow the mission, not the man, is what I always say. And the mission is we will better communicate with the public, we will provide better police services, but Parham may make a mistake," he said.

Better training equals better police

Parham is keenly aware that he is taking on his new role when parts of the country have been in an uproar over police shootings of African Americans, as well as the shootings of police officers.

"I look at it this way: the sum total of an officer's action is based upon about a thousand things that happen before he got to that particular point. It's his hiring. It's his training at the academy. It's his socialization into the police department. There is his supervision and interaction with his peers. There is the culture of the police department. There is a bureaucratic style of rules and regulations. All that plays into what happens at a car stop," Parham said.

He said better-trained cops make better decisions. He said cuts in training could have impact on officers years in the future.

"For me, I'm huge into training, so that when our officers respond, they can make better decisions," said Parham, adding that city officials have assured him they support enhanced training for the department's 125 officers, with plans to raise the complement to 150.

Parham also looks to bring back more community policing.

"Community policing will be the philosophy of the entire police department. Interacting with the community, going to civic organizations, going to churches, talking to community groups — that's going to be required of every officer at every level," he said.

Parham never anticipated that his law-enforcement career would include becoming chief, although he recalled that in the police academy, a former Cranford police chief predicted Parham would be the first black police chief in Linden.

At that time, Parham wasn't interested. As a 22-year-old rookie in 1992, he just wanted to be a cop and chase bad guys.

But over the years, he has learned there is more to police work than just chasing bad guys.

"What prepared me for this was a bunch of issues I wasn't particularly happy about," said Parham, adding that he had been involved in some shooting situations, and some volatile arrests that created stress. "And In dealing with that stress, I said maybe I didn't handle this in the right way, I said let me go get some more training and speak to some people who have done this before. In developing relationships and getting more resources, I got smarter."

Figuring his way up the ranks

As he was further promoted, Parham said he was put in situations he didn't particularly like, such as being placed in charge of training. Parham said he loves training, but he wasn't provided with any instructions on how to train others. He had to figure it out.

He also had to figure out how to create a counterterrorism and city SWAT team.

"Every single assignment I got as I progressed in getting promoted, no one gave me any instruction," he said. "I had to lean on people. I had to make relationships. I had to call people. I had to make a lot of mistakes. And in that failure, I learned. I learned that failure is not a bad thing. I learned that in order for me to get better, I had to fail first most times, and that for me to get through that, I had to suppress my ego, build relationships and just go into it with the understanding I don't know everything. I'm not always going to get it right."

Parham said that he didn't initially want his last assignment, being in charge of records, information technology and communications.

"My background was SWAT, tactical," said Parham, adding that records and communications was more administrative.

But Parham gave it his best and learned it was one of the best places he could have worked because he learned about policy and procedure, human resources, how to deal with civilian personnel, and about the structure of policing, the infrastructure that supports the city.

"Now as a chief, I get it. It's not about the cars and just answering calls, it's about the support," said Parham, who also has learned about budgeting and strategic planning. "Ultimately, it all helped me."

Parham said he looks to treating the police department as a business that provides the service of law enforcement. And to provide that service, there needs to be training, a budget and a strategic plan, the same things that make a business succeed.

Fixing the department's image

The Linden Police Department has suffered from image problems over the past two years following aggravated vehicular homicide and others charges filed against Officer Pedro Abad Jr., who drove the wrong way on a Staten Island highway on March 20, 2015 and crashed into a truck. His passengers — Officer Frank Viggiano and Linden resident Joseph Rodriguez — were killed in the crash and Officer Patrik Kudlac and Abad were injured.

Since becoming a police officer, Abad has twice been arrested in connection with driving under the influence.

Last month, Sgt William Turbett III, 30, of Sayreville, was sentenced to 18 months probation and was required to give up his police job and any future public employment in New Jersey in connection with distributing marijuana in Middlesex County.

Parham admits that the police department needs fixing, and he doesn't have a problem correcting things that are out of step. He said he has a greater commitment to the governing body and citizens than someone's personal feelings.

"There is no doubt in my mind we will fix it. I'm goal oriented. I'm task oriented. I know a lot of people who give me a lot of help. I don't sleep until I get it done," Parham said. "I don't quit. I keep going until I get it done.

"I know we've had some missteps. I also know it's not an accurate picture of the men and women who work here in Linden PD. Is there an issue, absolutely, and no one can deny it, and we don't deny it.

"So for me, moving forward is about looking at what we did, comparing that to what we should have done and fixing that. It's truly that simple. Putting people in places to make those corrections, and here's the big key — holding them accountable. There are no sacred cows here, no one that is just inherent in a position that's just going to be there forever. No one can say I made it and just rest on their laurels.

"Every single day, we are producing results and re-evaluating those results to make sure what we are doing is right. And if we make a mistake of putting the wrong guy in a particular spot and continue to see there are errors there, then we are required to get feedback from the public, our stakeholders and then we've got to make some changes, and hopefully we'll make changes for the better and then we start that process all over again."

If it requires the police department to continue to change, that's OK, he said.

"A business that succeeds does the same thing," Parham said.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com