West Milford Police Chief John Moeller, left, and Capt. Jack Ryan check the teletype machine at Police Headquarters. which was in the balcony of the current West Milford Museum, in the early 1950s. (File photo by Ann Genader)
In the 1930s, the New Jersey State Police’s Statewide Police Teletype System was developed to provide instant communications between law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and other states.
The teletype system continued to expand, and teletype messages received by West Milford and other area police departments proved to be very useful for broadcasting alarms and police information.
In the 1940s and ’50s, West Milford police and officers from other area departments depended heavily on the Pompton Lakes police radio for communications. This was before the West Milford department had a staff of officers and an office.
Phone calls for police assistance were received at the Pompton Lakes police station, where officers were assigned to desk duty 24 hours a day.
When the early patrol vehicles finally had two-way radios, the information was passed to police in West Milford and other towns by radio communication. That was not always easy in West Milford because mountains and other geographic factors challenged the primitive radio communication systems.
The first location for the West Milford Police Headquarters was in what originally was a Methodist Episcopal church balcony in what is today the West Milford Museum.
Municipal offices were on the first floor of the building. The Township Committee, various board meetings and weekly municipal court sessions with Magistrate T. Harry Cahill were held there.
When the current municipal building opened, the police station was in the basement at the left side of the building. The police headquarters was moved into an addition to the building in 1977.
When a female police officer was needed in the earliest days of the department, Chief John Moeller called in Special Police Officer Anna Bowen.
In 1958, the Township Committee appointed 14 women as special police officers, who were called to work as needed. Their duty was mostly to operate a switchboard that was installed in town hall to connect all departments and incoming telephone calls. They also were assigned to do police clerical work.
Those appointed were Vera Buresch, Irma Cahill, Dorothy Glennon, Frances Hall, Ann Mancini, Martha Johansen, Adele Jorlett, Grace Kirchner, Dorothea Mittler, Louise Olin, Emma Smith, Delores Vreeland, Joan Winter and Mazie Winter.
Frequent break-ins
From the earliest days of official police presence in West Milford, there was always plenty of action.
Because of the remoteness of the area with its summer vacation home communities inhabited only a few months of the year, there were frequent breaking, entering and theft reports with investigations needed.
Mob action was a factor, with murders and other cases sometimes making New York, Paterson and Newark newspaper headlines.
During Prohibition, illegal alcohol activity was discovered by Moeller and his Special Police force more than once.
The Special Police lived in the communities and most knew when something was suspect enough to warrant investigation. They quickly told the chief about suspicious activity.
With its remoteness and small police force, the West Milford’s wooded mountain region was an ideal place for those who functioned outside the law to attempt activity.
Police in the neighboring towns in northern Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties worked closely together in the early days of their police departments.
Moeller, for example, frequently communicated with Ringwood Police Chief Henry Roach and, after Roach retired, with Chief Roy Van Tassel. In Wanaque, there was Floyd Elston.
State Police from the Morristown Barracks helped local departments when they received calls for assistance. A barracks was opened at Hamburg Turnpike in Pompton Lakes and later another was added on Route 23 in Newfoundland. Both stations have been closed for many years.
Greenwood Lake, N.Y., was famous for bars and entertainment places that attracted young patrons from New Jersey.
In New Jersey, young people had to be 21 before they could legally drink alcohol. In New York, the drinking age since 1933 was 18; it was increased to 19 in 1982. With the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, the drinking age became 21 in all states.
The number of accidents involving young drivers coming back across the state line into New Jersey when the New York drinking age was 18 or later 19 was very high and often involved serious injuries and fatalities on weekend evenings.
More officers added
When West Milford officials saw that calls from across the 80-square-mile township were increasing as the township population continued to grow, they appointed two new officers to serve with Moeller and Jack Ryan.
Louis Hall and James Kemble were hired after residents signed petitions asking for their appointments, and a bit later, James Semento joined the force.
The population growth continued and additional vehicles on the road made it apparent that more police were needed. In 1959, five men who met civil service requirements were appointed to the West Milford Police Department. They were John Cox, Bob Deaver, Bill Genader, Jim Morreale and Bill Ohlmeyer.
Four of them completed State Police training at Sea Girt and graduated with their class, but Ohlmeyer, stricken with phenacites, was hospitalized and received his diploma a bit later.
Moeller had a rough time with George Egan, a Democrat who moved to the Republican-controlled township from Jersey City.
Egan was elected mayor in 1961 after a tough political campaign. His political enemies painted swastikas on the windows of his furniture store on Macopin Road across from the entrance to Weaver Road. Someone put a goat inside the store and a lot of damage was reported.
When no one was arrested for the crime, Egan felt the police force needed better supervision. With sufficient supports from his colleagues on the Township Committee, he saw that a new supervisory position was created to oversee the Police Department.
Walter Dearcop, who had retired with a history of being involved with law enforcement in New York City, was appointed to the newly created position of police commissioner.
After retiring, Moeller considered running for election to the Township Committee but did not do so.
By the time he retired in 1971, the Police Department had 24 officers. Ryan then became chief. After he died suddenly, James Breslin was appointed chief and served from 1973 to 2000, when he retired.
Following chiefs were James Dykstra (2000-05), Paul Costello (2005-10), Gene Chiosie (2010-12), Tim Storbeck (2012-19) and James DeVore Jr. (2018-23).
Shannon Sommerville has been the chief since 2023. The department now has one captain, three lieutenants, six sergeants, three detectives, 25 patrol officers, 4 full-time dispatchers, three police records clerks and a chief’s administrative assistant.