How this transgender Monmouth County detective made LGBTQ history in NJ

Alex Biese, Asbury Park Press
·4 min read

Editor’s note: “Pride of the Shore” is an occasional series on people in the LGBTQ+ community at the Jersey Shore who brighten our lives. Do you know someone who stands out? Send a note to Alex Biese at abiese@gannettnj.com.

Detective Connor Johnson is part of New Jersey history.

Johnson, a Morris Plains native and part of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, is the first known, openly-transgender law enforcement officer in the state.

Johnson, 36, isn’t shocked that barrier was left to be broken. He is, however, impressed with the desire for education among Garden State law enforcement professionals when it comes to interacting with members of the LGBTQ community.Members of New Jersey law enforcement, Johnson said, want “to educate themselves to make sure that they can interact (with) and make those individuals feel as comfortable as possible to come to them ... for help."

Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office detective Connor Johnson is the first known, openly-transgender law enforcement officer in New Jersey history.
Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office detective Connor Johnson is the first known, openly-transgender law enforcement officer in New Jersey history.

Johnson joined the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office in June 2022, which also makes him the first known, openly transgender detective to serve in a county prosecutor’s office in New Jersey.

He’d previously worked for the Morristown Bureau of Police, and served as a county correctional police officer with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and as a public safety dispatcher with Morris County. He graduated from Morristown High School and studied criminal justice at Centenary College in Hackettstown.

But growing up, he never dreamed of a career in law enforcement.

Connor Johnson of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office works in the High Tech Bureau, part of the Internet Crimes Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Connor Johnson of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office works in the High Tech Bureau, part of the Internet Crimes Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

“I wasn’t the guy that grew up wanting to be a cop,” he said. “My family didn’t have cops in the family. I’m the first law enforcement officer in my family.”

Sure, he played cops and robbers with his cousins when they were kids, and dressed as an English “Bobby” one year for Halloween, “but that was pretty much the extent of my wanting to be a police officer back then,” he said.

“It wasn’t until college that I realized I wanted to be in law enforcement,” Johnson explained. “I had a friend who opened up to me about her abuse from her stepfather and I thought, ‘I don’t want anyone to go through that situation. I want to be the person to help and be there to help that individual through that situation or stop that from happening to anybody.’ ”

Johnson, previously part of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Trial Support Fugitive Unit, now works in the Prosecutor’s Office’s High Tech Bureau, part of the Internet Crimes Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Part of Johnson’s community outreach effort is working to recruit LGBTQ individuals to take up law enforcement.
Part of Johnson’s community outreach effort is working to recruit LGBTQ individuals to take up law enforcement.

He is also a designated LGBTQ Law Enforcement Liaison, working with peers across the county and throughout New Jersey to bring awareness to a 2019 directive from then-Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal regarding law enforcement interactions with transgender individuals.

“Without the education, we can’t create understanding. Without understanding, there’s no acceptance,” said Johnson. “I had to educate myself on who I was. How am I going to expect somebody who isn’t trans to understand if they’re not educated on it as well?”

Given the opportunity to speak with law enforcement officials outside of New Jersey, what would Johnson like to say?

“Just treat (transgender people) with respect," he said. “If (someone asks) you to use their name, and it’s not what is on their license, just use their name. It’s no different (than) if my name was Christopher and I asked you to call me Chris. And if you have ... some sort of implicit bias, ... it’s not something you can act on.

“ ... And educate yourself a little bit about how people feel about pronouns, about why it’s important," he added. "And I would just hope that they took that and created a snowball effect and told everybody else about it.”

Part of Johnson’s community outreach efforts is working to recruit LGBTQ individuals to take up law enforcement.

“We need to be just as diverse as our community is in a law enforcement capacity in order to serve that community,” he said, “so we want LGBTQ people to join our forces.”

Johnson may have been the first transgender law enforcement officer in New Jersey, but he wasn’t the last. According to David D'Amico, chief investigator for the Middlesex County Department of Corrections who co-chairs the state's LGBTQ law enforcement liaison program, there are currently four out transgender officers in the state.

The program — which includes straight allies in addition to members of the LGBTQ community — launched with four members nearly six years ago. It's now up to 108, D'Amico said.

“We’re starting to grow," Johnson said. "We’re starting to get more of that recruitment, and I think people are feeling more comfortable. And I hope that me putting myself out there is going to help anyone realize that they can do anything regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, anything. You can do what you want to do.”

Alex Biese has been writing about art, entertainment, culture and news on a local and national level for more than 15 years. Alex can be reached at abiese@gannett.com and on Twitter at@ABieseAPP.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Transgender Monmouth County NJ detective made LGBTQ history