By Chris Rotolo
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – Carving out a path in this life is never easy, especially when your chosen profession is policing. For Atlantic Highlands’ new police chief, Scott Reinert, the course was only made possible with the support he received at home.
“It all started with a long talk with my then girlfriend and now wife, Tami,” Reinert told The Two River Times. “If I was going to be a police officer, I was going to go all in, and wasn’t planning to ever look back. I needed her full support. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for her support.”
Reinert, who is one of three children, and has four of his own, assumed the role of the borough’s top cop effective March 1, following the January retirement announcement of former chief David W. Rossbach.
Rossbach’s integration into the department dates back to 1980 when, at the age of 14, he became a police explorer. Four years later he was hired as a dispatcher following his graduation from Henry Hudson Regional High School. One year later he was sworn in as an officer and rose up the ranks until he was named chief in 2019.
During his tenure at the reins of the operation, Rossbach tapped Reinert to be the department’s accreditation manager, tasking him with oversight of the agency’s accreditation process, in addition to inspection of policy review, revision and implementation as part of a continuous improvement process.
“The person in this role essentially proves and ensures that the department is running on all cylinders, and doing everything that is required from the top down. It’s a heavy lift, but at the same time, it gave me great overall perspective of the department as a whole,” Reinert said.
Reinert began his career in Atlantic Highlands in 2008 when he was hired as a dispatcher; he became a patrolman the following year, a position he served in for the next six years.
“I loved being a patrolman; enforcing the law to keep the borough safe and putting a smile on peoples’ faces when I could. But comforting them when they’re facing hard times is also part of the job,” said Reinert, who was in his third year as an officer when Super Storm Sandy made landfall, devastating New Jersey’s coastal communities with a 14-foot storm surge that carried vessels up First Avenue and out to the intersection of Route 36.
“Severe weather events seem to be a frequent occurrence these days. I hope and pray that we never have to deal with another natural weather event like Hurricane Sandy,” Reinert said. “But unfortunately, hoping and praying does not work for a police department. We are always prepared to respond and practice incident command on a daily basis. The silver lining of any major event is to see how a community comes together to move forward. In terms of Hurricane Sandy, we came together as a borough, a county, a state and a country to move forward.”
The borough of Atlantic Highlands has had a sitting police chief since the role was first filled in 1915. Before being named the eighth chief in borough history, Reinert served as a sergeant in 2015, transitioned to detective sergeant in 2019, and promoted to captain in 2020.
Over the course of his career, Reinert said he has witnessed an evolution in the practice of policing and understands the public scrutiny surrounding it. He also believes in the power of empathy.
“As a detective sergeant I dealt with disturbing investigations and saw things that no individual would want to see happen to their loved ones. There were times I wanted to cry with the victims. All I could offer was my empathy,” Reinert said. “To be a modern-day police officer, you have to be able to adapt, be creative, freethinking, personable, and able to empathize. I encourage the community to stop and speak with our officers. Have a conversation with them. I think they’ll see that every officer wearing a badge is just a regular person with a heart and feelings, that is just trying to help.”
As the chief of police, Reinert said he is eager to get back out into the community and interact with the people of Atlantic Highlands, while doing his best to put department personnel in the best position to succeed.
“When I learned of Chief Rossbach’s retirement I was sad to learn he was leaving us, but I was excited for the opportunity to rise to the occasion. I realized that I had prepared myself for this position since the first day I started as a dispatcher,” Reinert said.
“New Jersey has been at the forefront of change in policing, holding its officers to a higher standard, and this department seems to always be one step ahead. We’ll continue to find new way to define ‘small town policing.’ ”
The article originally appeared in the March 10 – 16, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
