Sheilah Coley, the first woman to ever serve as police chief and police director for the City of Newark, has been appointed to manage public safety in East Orange.
EAST ORANGE -- Sheilah Coley, the first woman to ever serve as police chief and police director for the City of Newark, has a new job.
Coley has been appointed to lead the newly-formed East Orange Department of Public Safety, an umbrella agency consisting of the recently consolidated departments of police, fire and emergency management, according to a Friday news release announcing the hire.
Coley, who started work on Nov. 30, still awaits confirmation by the East Orange City Council, the release said.
"I am excited for the insight and experience that Director Coley will bring to our already dynamic team of leaders," said Mayor Lester E. Taylor. "East Orange is safer than it has been in over 50 years and I have no doubt that Director Coley will continue to make our city an even greater place to live, work and play."
Coley's career in policing began in 1989, when she graduated from the City of Newark Police Academy. After 22 years of service, she was named the Newark's first female police chief in 2011, and then appointed director of the police department in 2014.
Coley held that post for three months alongside former city police chief Ivonne Roman, making them the only female tandem to ever hold the city's top two positions. She retired from the Newark Police Department in 2014.
"The public safety personnel have done a phenomenal job of transforming East Orange from a city that was once one of the most crime-ridden communities in the state to a national model of good law enforcement," said Coley. "The challenge to build upon the excellent work that is being done here is one that I am wholeheartedly committed to achieving."
Coley is not the first Newark police director to leave the department, and then later pick up work in a nearby city. Former police director Sam DeMaio currently serves as Bloomfield Township chief administrator and police director.
Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
