By Joseph Sapia
HOLMDEL – Two portraits hang In the radio-dispatch area of the Holmdel Police Department, those of Joseph Phillips and and his son, R. Bruce Phillips
Joseph and R. Bruce Phillips, respectively, were the first two township police chiefs, thus beginning the modern era of the police department 50 years ago.
In 1966, the township formalized by ordinance its police department, said R. Bruce Phillips, 77, who spent 38 years on the department, 33 of them as chief, and is now retired on a 40-acre Kentucky farm, where he and his wife, Kelli, raise sheep.
R. Bruce Phillips expects to be in town later this month, when he is to be briefed by current Chief John Mioduszewski on 50th anniversary activities, which are getting underway.
“I know they’re doing a lot of things,” R. Bruce Phillips said. “I think it’s really exciting to think about it. They’re doing a heck of a job – I’ve heard that from other people.”
On Holmdel Community Day last month, the department rolled out a 1964 Ford Galaxy 500, restored as a police car based on the department’s first car.
On Aug. 1, Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) No. 239 is sponsoring its 32nd Annual Golf Outing, more special this year because of the department’s 50th anniversary, at Rumson Country Club. The tournament benefits local charities.
On Nov. 4, the Holmdel Township Police 50th Anniversary Ball will be celebrated at the Grand Marquis banquet hall in Old Bridge.
Already around town, there are other signs of the anniversary – police officers are wearing 50th anniversary badges and police cars are decorated with 50th anniversary logos.
Also, 50th anniversary sweatshirts, T-shirts and mugs are for sale.
The exact date in 1966 of the formal founding of the police department is unclear, but it started with Joseph Phillips as chief and R. Bruce Phillips and John Brady as his police officers.
Joseph Phillips started in 1927 as a township constable, then became police chief. He became a full-time law enforcement officer in about 1960, said R. Bruce Phillips, who replaced his father as chief in 1971 and retired in 2004.
Township police were backed up by State Police from stations in such places as the Garden State Parkway in the township, Hazlet and Colts Neck.
Today, the department has 39 full-time and two part-time officers, along with about 10 civilian employees, covering the 20-square-mile town of 18,000, said Mioduszewski, the department’s fourth chief. Mioduszewski, who was hired in 1987, replaced Raymond Wilson as chief.
Patrolman John Allen, president of PBA 239, said the department and community are coming together to celebrate the 50th anniversary.
“It’s special, not just to members of the department,” said Allen, a township police officer for 18 years. “It’s special to the whole town.”
“I grew up in town. Holmdel Police has always been a well-respected agency,” said Patrolman John Martin, who has been with the department for nine years. “This is a great town to be a police officer in, because everybody is supportive of the police department.”
As for the 1964 replica police car, an Indiana man owned the car and, then, turned ownership over to his nephew. Somewhere along the way, it was restored to appear as a police car.
A Holmdel businessman, who wants to remain anonymous, bought the car for $5,000 and donated it to the township.
“The hope is any time we have a parade, a local event, we can bring it,” the businessman said. “Kind of a remembrance of way back when.”
On Community Day, “The car was a big hit there,” Allen said. “People were taking pictures.”
Mioduszewski joked he is the same age as the police department, “Me, the department, the Super Bowl, the Red Oak Diner.”
Information on the golf outing, the golf outing cocktail party/dinner, 50th anniversary dinner and 50th anniversary memorabilia will be available on the Facebook.com page of the Holmdel Township Police Department.
