By Madelynne Kislovsky
RUMSON – The borough has a new police patrol officer on its staff that brings the quote from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Though she be but little, she is fierce,” back to life.
Grace Maggiulli, who describes herself as standing at 5’2, 120 pounds, is the first fulltime female police officer in the Rumson Police Department. Born, raised, and still living in Middletown, 20-year-old Maggiulli is “very excited to be where I am and start my career in Rumson. It’s a great town and a great community.”
Although no members of her family have a career in law enforcement, Maggiulli knew it was the job for her after entering a vocational program for law enforcement in Long Branch, the Academy of Law and Public Safety Program, during her junior and senior year of high school.
“I always knew I wanted to do something where I gave myself to others that wasn’t a teacher or a doctor. Law enforcement always seemed like a great way for me to do that,” Maggiulli said.
Prior to her job as a police officer, Maggiulli began working as a dispatcher for the Rumson police in August 2014. “They were all already comfortable with me, and I received the same treatment as anyone else, male or female. There were no and there are no special accommodations,” said Maggiulli.
Maggiulli said that regardless of gender, being a police officer demands the same things from all of its members. “The job is what the job is. I love being on the road, I love working, I love what I do and I can only imagine how things are going to be down the line. There’s not one thing I can complain about,” Maggiulli said.
“Growing up, I was always friends with a lot of boys,” Maggiulli said. “When it came to working with all men, it didn’t strike me as something that would be a challenge. I believe that women do have a place in law enforcement. Although we’re small in numbers, we’re valued for what we do.” Maggiulli advises that if being in law enforcement is something that a woman wants to do and feels strongly about, nothing should hinder them.
Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl administered the oath of office to Maggiulli on Sept. 28. “First of all, it’s an honor for us to welcome our first female police officer to the force. But I think it needs to be said that this was not an exercise in hiring a new female police officer. It was an exercise in hiring the best candidate that we felt was the right person for the Rumson Police Department going forward, and it just happened to be a female, Grace Maggiulli,” Mayor Ekdahl said.
According to Ekdahl, it is not uncommon to begin a career in law enforcement in dispatch. Maggiulli succeeded in this area, and after taking the necessary classes in the Monmouth County Police Academy, Freehold, moved on to a Class II Special Officer, allowing her to go out on patrol with another officer present, which she also excelled at. Maggiulli then was chosen as a patrol officer over the other 25-30 applicants, making it a highly sought after job, according to Ekdahl.
“Grace is definitely on the younger side of average for someone just entering a police force. But her maturity is well beyond her years, and she exhibited that as both a dispatcher and a Special II, and continues to show that as our newest officer,” said Mayor Ekdahl.
Maggiulli graduated from Middletown High School North in 2013 and from Brookdale Community College, Middletown, with an associate’s degree this past May. She is taking online classes at Farleigh Dickinson University for her bachelor’s degree in administrative science, and hopes to get her masters in the same field.
