North Haledon sergeant breaks gender barrier in modest fashion, credits 'natural instinct'

NORTH HALEDON — The most essential tool for Detective Sgt. Colleen Carver is not carried on her duty belt, nor is it hooked up to the dashboard of her cruiser.

It is her gut reaction, she said — her "natural instinct" to do right by the people.

And her dedication to uphold that principle has served the borough well for 21 years. She teaches fifth graders about the ills of alcohol and drug abuse, and she supervises a team of volunteers who support victims of domestic violence. She once helped save a college student's life, and more recently, she eased a mother's fears when her child was hit by a car.

Her latest achievement is trailblazing: She became the first woman in the history of the police department to receive a promotion.

But the feat did little to impress Carver, who is known around headquarters for her poise and humble temperament.

"I see myself as one of the guys," said Carver, a native of Ringwood. "I'm no different than the guys in the past who were promoted to sergeant."

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Yet men still outnumber women in careers of law enforcement by a considerable margin.

According to a report published in May by app.com, just 12.7% of all sworn officers in municipal departments in the U.S. are female. That number is even lower for police forces in New Jersey.

Carver is among six sergeants on the 21-person force; and for many years, she has been its only woman. But that will likely change this month if the Borough Council appoints Lacey Morrison to patrolwoman. She is the recommended pick for one of two openings.

Barbara Schein, now living in Las Vegas, was the first female pioneer in the local department when she broke in as a grandmother at 50 years old.

It was a subject of nationwide curiosity when she entered the police academy for an 18-week course in August 1986. She made appearances on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." People Magazine had a spread.

"Females are great," said Schein, who retired in April 2001 and moved west the next year. "They bring everything that a man brings, if not more. We're the same as a man — we have to go through the same boot camp."

Schein had to retire when she turned 65 due to a state pension law. But she said she would be able to keep up even today, at 86. "There's nothing wrong with me," she said. "I'm old right now, and there's nothing wrong with me. I've never been sick a day in my life."

Her tenure overlapped Carver's by four months, she said.

Carver was paid an annual salary of $144,577 as a detective, and she will now make $154,349 as a result of her promotion.

Carver, 44, who is married and is the mother to 12-year-old twins, was a volleyball standout at Lakeland Regional High School in Wanaque. She attended Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and was a Division III all-American in her junior and senior years.

She said she initially wanted to be a physical therapist. She tore her ACL, and she said it made her consider medicine as a profession. But that changed, she said, when she enrolled in more college courses in criminal justice.

"I knew that I didn't want to sit behind a desk," said Carver, also a coach of recreation basketball and softball. "Being a police officer is an active job."

Carver would come to appreciate the intensity of the role in a little more than two years.

A routine welfare check in February 2003 turned out to be a life-saving mission. She and two other officers had to use a Halligan bar to break in a side door of a garage where a woman was attempting suicide. A car was running, and she was slumped over in the driver's seat, inhaling the lethal fumes.

The officers resuscitated the woman, who made a full recovery, and they got citations for their heroics.

Chief Todd Darby, who also responded to that call, said Carver deserved a promotion because she "always goes the extra mile." She is a "modest employee, who doesn't like to be in the spotlight," he said. "But she has done some incredible things in her career. To pick one incident as exemplary would be impossible because she brings that level of detail to every call."

Her response to a recent event had a lasting effect on some officials, who noted that it was extra special.

In March, a student of High Mountain School was struck by a car as he walked across Overlook Avenue — less than 500 feet from the police station.

Carver, among the first responders, rushed to the scene to check his condition. Then, she pulled out her cellphone and called the boy's mother. But she not only told her that her son was OK, she showed her.

They connected on FaceTime.

"She has been an asset from the day she was hired," Mayor Randy George said to an audience in the municipal courtroom on the night of her promotion.

"I don't believe that's protocol, but it cemented my opinion of Colleen," he then said of her spur-of-the-moment call to the boy's mother. "I thought that went above and beyond. So when the chief came and asked for me to promote her, I didn't hesitate."

To Carver, though, it is all part of the job.

"It was just natural instinct," she said. "I was just being a mother. If that was me, I'd want to see my kid. I think my motherly instinct kicked in."

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Haledon NJ cop first woman in department history to rise in rank