
Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather is leaving the Township to take a position with an out-of-state law enforcement agency.
Maeweather’s 5.5-year tenure heading the Franklin Township Police Department will end at the close of business on September 19.
“It is bittersweet because I feel like, I am a part of Franklin,” Maeweather said in an exclusive interview with the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. “Moving to Franklin made it very real for me in terms of, this was going to be my home, and I literally got settled in.”
“I feel like I got to know the people, and that’s what I liked about Franklin,” said Maeweather, who has been a Franklin resident for the last four years.
FTPD Captain Lloyd Fredericks will serve as Acting Public Safety Director until a permanent replacement for Maeweather is chosen by the Township Council.
Maeweather’s appointment to the Franklin position was made in April 2020. She was formerly the retired Chief of Detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office after 20 years with the agency.
She was the first woman and the first woman of color to lead the department. She was also the first woman of color Chief of Detectives in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Maeweather came to the Township when the police department was in a state of disarray. The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office had taken over administrative oversight of the FTPD the prior year, following the abrupt resignations of former Police Chief Richard Grammar and Capt. Greg Borlan.
Since taking the reins, Maeweather said, she feels she’s been able to put the department back on steady footing, with the emphasis on community policing and the Arrive Together program, which puts a mental health professional with a police officer to respond to certain calls.
She said being a woman heading a department comprised mainly of men didn’t phase her.
“I used to say I was born to lead men,” she said. “I understand this profession. You know, a lot of my peers, they joke about when we were all just detectives and officers, and I joke with them, I said I was your chief when we were all detectives, because I just would try to help them. I would assume the role, and I would say, no, we’re not doing that, and after getting beat up in court a few times, listen, we would come back to a case, I’m like, oh, we’re never doing that again, or move over, let me type, you know, because we used to have to type on carbon paper, and the more mistakes you make, it was blotted, and it was so hard during the hearings to read the statements, because the original was an evidence or lost,”
“So I learned my lessons, and I just, I’m like, I don’t care what they think, I’m taking over, and they appreciated it, but I think, listen, being the only woman, remember, too, I went to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, it was nothing for me to be the only woman in a class, and again, chem lab, I just take over,” she said.
Maeweather reported to Township Manager Robert Vornlocker, who said she, “brought strong leadership to Franklin.”
Read about Public Safety Director Maeweather’s tenure with the township here.
“In her five-plus years of service, she has had a tremendous impact not only on the Police Department, but on our entire community,” Vornlocker said. “From day one, I had complete confidence in her, and time and again she amazed me with all that she accomplished.”
“What I’ll miss most, though, goes beyond her leadership,” he said. “Quovella has been a trusted colleague and a true friend. Her steady guidance, her integrity, and her kindness have left a lasting mark on all of us and the Township.”
Mayor Phil Kramer noted that Maeweather came to the Township “at a difficult time.”
“COVID started soon after she got here followed quickly by political unrest,” he said. “She took charge immediately, wielding both confidence and compassion.”
“She gave us a police department that was more diverse that followed her lead with confidence and compassion,” Kramer said. “We are richer for her time with us. We are sad to see her go. We wish her luck.”
Somerset County Board of Commissioners Director – and former Franklin Deputy Mayor – Shanelle Robinson said that Maeweather “has left an indelible mark.”
“There was a black mark on the reputation of the police department,” she said. “So I think being able to turn it around, continuing with community police program, embedding those officers in the community, I think made all the difference in the world.”
“So the community then can build trust or rebuild trust in an era where people had no trust in the police department,” she said. “People had no trust in government. People had no trust in their neighbor. And so she came at a pivotal time to be able to turn that around and she’s leaving out on a high note. So whoever comes in to replace her, they have some hard shoes to fill.”
Maeweather didn’t discount the possibility of returning to Franklin when she finally does retire.
“Franklin has provided for me and my family, and I am so appreciative,” she said. “I will never forget Franklin. I think in the back of my head, I said, you know, listen, who knows? When I retire, I can come retire and live in Somerset Run or Canal Walk, right?”
Her new employers, Maeweather said, once asked if there was anything that would hold her back from taking their offered position.
“And I joked and I said, well, only my attachment issues,” she said. “And he says, attached to what? I said, Franklin Township.”
Here is the FR&A interview with Director Maeweather:
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