EDWARD W. GUNNELL
Chief Edward W. Gunnell is a lifelong resident of Spring Lake Heights. He attended St. Rose High School and subsequently graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Chief Gunnell started his law enforcement career with the Borough of Spring Lake Heights on February 9, 1998, when he was appointed to the position of Patrolman. Since his appointment he was assigned to regular patrol duties with an emphasis on personally engaging the Community,
One of Chief Gunnell’s most memorable accomplishments were instituting the DARE program in the Spring Lake Heights Elementary School and re-instituting National Night Out within the Borough of Spring Lake Heights. Other areas of responsibility have included, serving in the Detective Bureau, Juvenile Officer, Evidence Custodian, School Safety liaison and Megan’s Law officer.
He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on August 15, 2011, and remained in the Operations Division. In addition to supervising patrol officers, his main area of responsibility was administrative records management.
On January 22, 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Shortly thereafter, on July 2, 2018, he was promoted to Acting Chief of Police and eventually was appointed as the Chief of Police of the Spring Lake Heights Police Department on January 1, 2019.
Since that time, Chief Gunnell and his staff have been working hard to bring the best possible services to the residents of Spring Lake Heights. Chief Gunnell has also initiated the pursuit of Departmental Accreditation through the New Jersey State Association of Chief of Police Association and has already instituted a “Best Practices” model for department policies.
Chief Gunnell can be contacted at the following;
Phone: (732) 449 – 6161 (ext. 4919)
E-Mail: [email protected]