Camden police chief quits; succession unclear

The Camden police chief has resigned after less than seven months on the job, officials said, leaving control of the department an open question as police grapple with the sixth leadership change in as many years.

Chief Edward Hargis, 44, who was given credit yesterday for stabilizing a department with low morale and a complicated bureaucratic structure, told officials he was retiring to pursue a job in the private sector.

The retirement is effective Sept. 1. Hargis did not return a call for comment.

"I want to congratulate him on his retirement, but I also want to say we have a lot of young talent waiting in the wings to come in and lead us in the right direction," said Bill Murray, president of the police supervisors' union.

But how will that talent be selected? The state Attorney General's Office and Camden County Prosecutor's Office have oversight of Camden law enforcement, but officials expressed different views on the process for finding a replacement.

The Attorney General's Office selected Hargis as chief in January. At the same time, John Huertas took the new position of civilian police director, responsible for policy and budget matters.

Hargis reports to Attorney General Anne Milgram, while Huertas' boss is Judge Theodore Z. Davis, the state-appointed chief operating officer of Camden.

"There's a lot of hands in the pot right now," Murray said.

City Council President Angel Fuentes said he believed a new chief would have to be vetted and approved by Council. And Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said she wanted a seat at the table.

"I think my constitutional rights are being violated," she said, contending that she is kept out of the loop on police matters.

"If they let me be the mayor like I should be the mayor, elected by the people, I could run that doggone Police Department. . . . I've been here long enough to know what to do."

Faison said Hargis had done a great job of communicating with residents and listening to concerns at neighborhood meetings. But she's still angry that she didn't even know about his January appointment until after the fact.

"I don't even know if they're even going to have a chief," she said. "I know nothing."

A representative of the Attorney General's Office could not be reached for comment.

The latest period of change in the top ranks of the department began in 2003 when Chief Robert Allenbach was ousted. The Attorney General's Office assumed control, putting the department under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office.

Chief Edwin Figueroa retired in 2006. Two "supersession executives," the name then given to the department leader, followed him, lasting five and 17 months. Hargis took the job after that.

"We paid so much money for blue-ribbon [panels], consultants, and all the other things, I can't understand why we're changing so quickly," Faison said.

A 21-year veteran of the department, Hargis was a deputy chief when tapped to lead its 500 members.

"He came in at a time when there was turmoil, morale was poor, and he really restored the confidence of the police officers along with the residents of the city of Camden," Fuentes said. "He had a gift of really trying to engage the residents to work closely with Camden police to fight crime."

Hargis and Huertas also worked well together, said Jason Laughlin, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office.

"They were cooperating very effectively as a team in an effort to realign the organization of the department and deploy more officers to the high-crime areas of the city," he said.

Hargis had focused on seizing weapons, enforcing a curfew for minors, and redeploying officers to target neighborhood crimes.

Eighteen detectives were taken off desk duty and put on the streets during peak crime hours, and more officers were assigned to the business district.

Yet problems persist. The city is on a pace to surpass its record of 58 homicides, set in 1994.

Early yesterday, a homeless man, Richard J. Adams, 52, was fatally shot at Seventh and Walnut Streets. A gunman approached, fired and walked away, the Prosecutor's Office said. There are no suspects.

Adams was Camden's 32d homicide victim in 2008. There were 42 in all of 2007.