The Jersey City Police Department promoted 75 officers Tuesday morning, including a sergeant who ran toward the gunfire to help another officer who had been shot in the Dec. 10 shootout on Martin Luther King Drive.
Marjorie Jordan was promoted to lieutenant, making her the highest-ranking Black woman officer in the department.
The ceremony, held outside City Hall because of coronavirus restrictions, included the promotion of 20 new captains, 20 new lieutenants and 35 new sergeants by Public Safety Director James Shea, Police Director Tawana Moody and Police Chief Michael Kelly.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has prioritized diversity recruitment, with 70% of the nearly 500 police officers hired since July 2013 representing minority populations. Among the new sergeants, 13 are Hispanic, two are Arabic, and two are Black.
“As a city, we have had to overcome unprecedented obstacles this past year, and our officers never wavered in their commitment to keeping the community safe,” Fulop said. “We have the best police department in the state, bar none, and I have no doubt this new leadership will continue to further our progress as a city.”
With the highest JCPD staffing levels in decades, this rising leadership will help oversee the 900-plus officers on the force citywide and continue the administration’s goal of improving overall public safety and quality of life for all residents.
“Our police department continues to grow in size and strength, and I’m confident the newest leadership rising in ranks today will continue to raise the bar, and further solidifies our spot among the top police departments in the state,” Kelly said.