On July 21, Maplewood Township officially swore in Niheema Malloy as Police Chief.
Malloy is the first woman and the first Black woman to serve as Chief of Police in Maplewood, New Jersey.
The event at Maplewood Town Hall was crowded, joyous and celebratory. And it was all Malloy’s doing. The new chief had curated a ceremony that acknowledged retiring Chief Albert Sally and his groundbreaking role as Maplewood’s first Black police chief, that marked her historic role as the town’s first Black female police chief, and that celebrated the Maplewood Police Department as a whole — a fitting cap to a decade of work to transform the force following a brutality scandal 10 years ago.
Malloy said that her career path was one of “intention and audacity.”
“That’s what I move in life with. I don’t know what’s going to come. I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but I know that it’s always going to be okay. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know that I’m going to leave it better than it was when I found it.”
“We figure it out,” said Malloy. “We’re going to continue the intentions that were sent forward by this Township Committee. The intentions of inclusivity, community safety and protection. And protection not only of the people and the property, but protection of the values that have continued to fortify this community. And to all my brothers and sisters of MPD, all the staff members, all the admin staff — I know y’all struggle to get these Class A’s together because a lot of us don’t get in them too often. But I wanted you to be dressed up because I wanted you to celebrate this moment. It’s not just about me, it’s our moment. This is our moment.”
Malloy continued, “This is our moment to start a new beginning, to do it better, to move with intention, to have a fresh direction and a new perspective. We may not always get it right, but we will try our best and we will fix the things that we can fix along the way. And I also would like to thank the members of the Township Committee for continuing to support me, to understand me in my non-traditional-cop cop ways and never try and change me, never trying to put me in a box, accepting me for who I am and the cop that I always wanted to be.”
“Today we are all so proud to welcome the first Black woman to serve as chief of police in Maplewood history, ” said Township Committee member Jane Collins-Colding. “It’s a powerful reminder that excellence knows no boundaries and that representation matters. Every Black girl, every young child in our community can now look at the highest rank in our police department and know that their leadership will be possible in the future.”
“And on a personal note,” added Collins-Colding, “from one Black sister to another, you got it, girl.”
