Power Structure Shifts On Newark’s Police Force: New Director, Chief
NEWARK, NJ — A new team of top cops has taken the reins in New Jersey's largest city, Newark officials say.
On Tuesday, Mayor Ras Baraka announced the appointment of Emanuel Miranda as the new director of public safety, Sharonda Morris as the new police chief, and Leonardo Carrillo as the new deputy director of police operations.
The new appointments follow the resignation of former public safety director Fritz Fragé , who served in the role for the past two years. Fragé previously served for more than two decades with the New Jersey State Police, and also served as a task force officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
"These prudent appointments will enhance Newark's thriving public safety ecosystem to include an outstanding team of law enforcement veterans committed to respectfully serving our community while keeping our neighborhoods and businesses safe," Baraka said.
Over the past few years, Newark has reportedly been seeing a huge drop in violent crime – a trend that may have been developing for decades.
Newark officials have credited part of the turnaround to a new approach to policing, which views crime and violence as a "public health" issue that needs to be attacked in several ways – not simply making more arrests.
Emanuel Miranda will oversee the City of Newark's Police and Fire divisions, along with its Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and Preparedness. He has oversight of more than 1,000 sworn police officers, 658 firefighters and over 350 civilian employees.
Baraka's office provided the following background about Miranda:
"A native Newarker, Miranda was sworn in as a police officer in 2001. He began his career as a patrolman in the 5th Precinct, serving the residents of the city's South Ward. In 2005, he joined the precinct's Detective Bureau, where he honed his investigative skills by efficiently solving homicides, shootings, and other major crimes. In 2016, Miranda was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After serving in the Communications Division until 2017, he was appointed as commander of the Homicide Task Force, comprising detectives of the Newark Police Division and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. In 2018, Miranda was promoted to lieutenant. A year later, he was appointed as commander of the Newark Police Division's Robbery Unit. He was later promoted to the rank of captain, serving as a special assistant to the Office of the Public Safety Director when he was named as Newark Chief of Police in 2022.""When I was growing up here as a kid in Newark, I knew I wanted to become a public servant, but I couldn't imagine attaining the position of Newark Public Safety Director," Miranda said.
POLICE CHIEF
Sharonda Morris, a veteran law enforcement leader for the Newark Department of Public Safety, has been a member of the city's Police Division for 26 years, rising through its ranks to her current role as chief.
Baraka's office provided the following background about the new chief:
"Chief Morris joined the Police Division in 1998 as a West District foot patrol officer and moved up to detective two years later. She held that post for eight years, serving in the Human Resources Department. Morris monitored the Police Division's overtime schedule and was responsible for discovering outstanding funds the Division had not been paid from the State of New Jersey for outside employment amounting to $1 million. She was promoted to Sergeant in 2008. During the following eight years, Morris led several police districts, supervised patrol units, implemented strategies to track and reduce crime, and managed the Police Division's finances. In 2016, she was transferred to the Office of Professional Standards as an investigative Sergeant. As her professional value grew, Morris was quickly promoted to Lieutenant, then to Executive Officer in 2017. Morris was promoted to Commanding Captain of the Office of Professional Standards in 2020. In 2021, Morris was tapped by Mayor Baraka to serve as Deputy Director of Police Operations. In this role, she assisted the Public Safety Director in guiding the daily operations of the Newark Police Division."Morris, a graduate of University High School in Newark and Rutgers University-Newark, is currently completing a master's degree in public administration.
"Becoming the Newark Police Division's Chief of Police is the realization of a goal that I have held close to my heart for years," Morris said.
"I cannot thank Mayor Baraka and his administration enough for entrusting me to lead the Police Division here in Newark, the city where I was born and raised," she added.
Morris' former position as deputy director of police operations has been filled by Newark police captain Leonardo Carrillo, who has led the Newark Police Division's Consent Decree Unit and helped to establish the William Mobile Ashby Community Care and Training Center, which houses the Newark Police Training Academy.
Baraka's office provided the following background about Carillo:
"Leonardo Carrillo has served the City of Newark since joining the Newark Police Division as an officer in 1998. His law enforcement career began by conducting walking patrols, motor patrols, and other street enforcement assignments at the 2nd Precinct in the North Ward, at the 3rd Precinct in the East Ward, and at the 5th Precinct in the city's South Ward. In 2003, Carrillo was assigned to the division's Auto Theft Task Force, where he served for two years, working as part of a tactical street crime enforcement team aimed at apprehending felony vehicles. From 2005 to 2016, Carrillo served in the Emergency Services Unit, which responds to a wide range of crisis incidents from medical emergencies and hostage situations to building collapses and under-water rescues. After being promoted to the rank of sergeant, Carrillo was assigned in 2016 to the Community Focus Division, which trains and evaluates newly hired police officers. Later that year, he was assigned to the 4th Precinct's Detective Squad as its Operations Sergeant. As the Police Division expanded its intricate work with the U.S. Department of Justice under its Consent Decree, Carrillo was assigned to support the development of new policies, procedures, and training curricula, including the Community Policing Policy and the First Amendment Right to Observe, Object to & Record Police Activity policy. He was then promoted to the ranks of lieutenant and captain while overseeing the Consent Decree's complex and extensive police reforms and Community Engagement processes. Carrillo will support Director Miranda in guiding the daily operations of the Newark Police Division.""Gaining the perspective of our city's residents regarding policing-community engagement has exponentially raised my core values to recognize the importance of the input of the public in the goals of public safety," Carrillo said.
"I look forward to working within a new dimension of leadership, one that affords me the opportunity advance our city's unique strategies of reducing crime," Carrillo added.
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