Plainsboro Township wasted no time in announcing that current Captain Elizabeth Bondurant would take the place of Clifford Maurer as Township Public Safety Director.##M:[more]## Maurer recently announced his retirement effective March 1.
With a strong internal candidate available and future leaders being mentored, we believe that the leadership of the Plainsboro Police Department will be ably cared for from within the department,” said Plainsboro Township Administrator Robert Sheehan.
The Plainsboro Township committee introduced an ordinance on January 10 which will re-establish the position of police chief. Maurer is the township’s original police chief, serving from 1978-1993. He came out of retirement in 2004 when the department changed its leadership structure to establish the civilian Director of Public Safety position. At that time, Maurer was appointed and Bondurant was made captain.
Bondurant will take over a historically contentious Plainsboro Police Department. The 2004 reorganization followed a long period of internal strife, capped by members of the Policeman’s Benevolent Association, led by president Nicholas Procaccini and vice president John Molnar, (both still members of the department) called for then-Chief David Lyon, a 25-year veteran of the force (10 years as chief), to step down. Neither Procaccini nor Molnar returned calls for comment about Bondurant’s promotion.
Differences centered on police brass wanting more aggressive traffic enforcement while police officers said that the number of tickets they write should be left up to their discretion.
When Lyon, along with second-in-command Timothy Methany, elected to retire on March 1, 2004, the Township Committee decided to eliminate the position of chief of police and consolidate its powers and responsibilities in the civilian position of director of public safety. As recently as late last year, the News received anonymous mailings including complaints filed within the department. The complaints stemmed mainly from the handling of a noise complaint filed against township committeemember Ed Yates during a party at his house.
Bondurant has been a member of the Plainsboro Police Department since 1983, and served as a lieutenant from 1994 to 2004. “Captain Bondurant’s talents and unquestioned dedication to the Plainsboro Police Department and the community make this appointment a rather easy decision,” said Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu.
She grew up in Baltimore before moving to Long Island and Pennsylvania. She went to college at East Stroudsburg in Pennsylvania, and graduated with a degree in teaching. She found it difficult to find a teaching job at the time, and turned to law enforcement.
Her decision to become a police officer, she says, was very much influenced by a personal tragedy. Her older brother Tom was killed in 1978 while driving under the influence. “When something like that happens, it’s a tragedy all the way around, and it’s one of the focal points we have as a department,” said Bondurant.
As captain, she has initiated multiple programs to raise awareness for prevention of drunk driving, including the annual Police Expo held at Quaker Bridge Mall.
“Drunk driving impacts people whether you are the one driving, or you happen to be the other motorist going down the same road,” says Bondurant.
She says she believes police and civilian efforts to raise awareness of the problem have been effective. “I think society in general has changed their view of having a few drinks and driving. It’s not socially acceptable. Because it’s such a significant problem, people are being much more responsible,” says Bondurant.
Bondurant, whose appointment will be effective March 1, says she plans to keep the department running as it has been. “I think we’re in a very good place now, we’re moving in a very positive direction,” says Bondurant. “We’re going to continue to focus on enforcement and community policing. Both of those are important. Law enforcement is dynamic, it’s always changing, but I don’t plan to make any radical changes in the department.”
The department currently has two lieutenants, Thomas De Simone and William Kugel, both of whom were made lieutenants following the department’s reorganization 2004. A third will be appointed once Bondurant is promoted. Bondurant says the elimination of the civilian position will allow the township to hire one more uniformed officer.
