‘I couldn’t have written it any better myself’

After a 28-year-long career with Harrison Township Police Department (HTPD), Chief Ronald Cundey has retired. 

Cundey, who took on the role of Chief of Police in January 2021, retires on August 31. David Marro, the department’s most recent captain, took on the role of chief the following day. 

Cundey has spent the last five and a half years doing the best he can to make the department–and entire town–a little bit better than it was before, and he feels like he achieved that, primarily through modeling his leadership style on decentralized command. 

“No matter what your position is, everybody’s a leader. Even if you’re the lowest patrolman, you’re still a leader. Decentralized command allows them to make decisions that are within the right parameters,” he said. 

“And that’s good, because I knew I wasn’t going to be the chief forever,” he continued. “So if you don’t let people make decisions and figure stuff out, then they’re not going to know how to do it when it’s their turn.” 

He knows what it is like to work across all ranks in the police department, as well as in other emergency response areas. This all prepared him for his role as chief. 

Cundey, now 55 years old, grew up in Gibbstown. He went to Paulsboro High School, and he became a volunteer fireman in Gibbstown his senior year. After graduating in 1989, he initially went to Drexel University to study computer science and engineering; however, he said that “didn’t work out too well.”

He then found himself working at a refinery in Paulsboro for five years while training to be a firefighter. After being laid off from the refinery in 1995, he went back to school and earned his associates degree in criminal justice from the community college. He had a lot of friends in emergency response, and many told him he would do well as a police officer. 

“I had a type A personality. It was an action-type job,” he said. “So, I started working on becoming a police officer in 1996.” 

First, he worked as security at the former Underwood Hospital in Woodbury; then he spent that summer working as a part-time police officer in Wildwood while he attended the Gloucester County Police Academy. He also became an EMT, and he was defibrillator certified when defibrillators started entering police departments.

When he came back from the shore, he worked in dispatching at Gibbstown PD, his hometown department. Cundey said, while he was working there, he answered a call from the Harrison Township chief of police. Cundey had seen in the news that HTPD was one of the first departments in the area to get defibrillators, and since he had experience in it, he pitched himself to the chief. 

The former chief was impressed with Cundey, and he eventually hired Cundey as a part-time officer in August of 1998. Cundey was promoted to a full-time officer by April 1999. 

“It really struck me when I got hired and moved up through my career, since I wasn’t from here. I didn’t know anybody,” he said. “But I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”

While working for HTPD, Cundey finished his bachelor’s degree at Thomas Edison State University in 2011. He later went on to get a master’s degree in public service administration and leadership with a graduate certificate in homeland security at the same university. His education has helped him in his career at the department, as well as his work teaching at the police academy, where he teaches criminal justice info systems. He will continue to do so during retirement.

At HTPD, he worked his way up through the ranks. Cundey earned the rank of sergeant in 2011; moved to administrative lieutenant in 2014, where he worked to get HTPD’s first accreditation through the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.

After the former chief of police and captain left, Cundey applied and took the test to be considered for chief. He began his role as chief of police on January 1, 2021.

In addition to his work with HTPD, he has worked part-time at the Gloucester County Emergency Response center since 2000, and he plans to keep working there.

During his entire career, Cundey has valued learning. He described himself as a “lifelong learner,” especially when it comes to leadership. He has remained committed to reading, partaking in workshops, listening to podcasts, and communicating with other police leaders about their experience and how they handle situations. He finds value in sharing his knowledge with others, too.

A way Cundey continued to learn and improve his leadership was through joining the Gloucester County Police Chiefs Association. He served as president of the association in 2025. Now, as the immediate past president, he will continue to participate in the association, as they welcome retirees.

“I’ll be retiring with 28 years and one month of service to the township of Harrison, to the residents of Harrison,” he said. “It’s been a long, really great career. I mean, I couldn’t have written it any better myself.”

While at HTPD, Cundey participated in many notable initiatives. 

During 9/11 — only about three years into his career — Cundey said he was one of a few HTPD officers sent to New York City to assist with the attacks. He was off that day, and he recalls watching the tragedy unfold on the news until his chief called him and asked him to drive up to help. 

Shortly after he started at HTPD, the department started its Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens. It was a nice, rewarding way for the police to give back and connect with its community.

Additionally, HTPD’s K-9 Unit was established under Cundey’s leadership. They welcomed their first (and only) K-9, Dunkin, in February 2022. While funding for the K-9 Unit is limited, Cundey does hope that the department can eventually add more K-9s and staff to continue strengthening HTPD.

And of course, he ultimately hopes the police department continues to grow and “leave it a little bit better” than how it ran under previous leadership.

“I’m leaving the department better than when I took it over. My goal was to make it a little bit better, and I know that Captain Marro is going to do well and leave it better than what I had,” he said.

“My leadership philosophy is I’m just here to do a job and do what’s best for the residents and the department, and I think I did that.”