West Long Branch makes history with new police chief, who was inspired by a car crash
WEST LONG BRANCH - As Mayor Janet Tucci put it, the badge has been passed to a new police chief. One who is also a bit of a trailblazer.
Marlowe Botti, 41, was sworn in Wednesday night at Borough Hall in front of her family and friends, along with dozens of members of law enforcement clad in dark blue and gray uniforms. In doing so, she made local history by becoming the first woman to hold the rank of chief in the borough's 115-year history.
"I think it's important. I want to say, as a woman, our numbers are coming up. I'm now one of three female police chiefs in Monmouth County and it's nice to join those ranks," Botti told the Asbury Park Press following the ceremony.
She said she's happy to serve as a role model to other female officers climbing the ranks. "I'm honored to be paving the roadway for them," she said.
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Belmar and Keyport are the two other Monmouth County towns with female chiefs. Statewide there were 11 as of four years ago, and overall, 10.4% of New Jersey's roughly 30,000 active, full-time police officers are female, according to a 2022 demographics' report from the Attorney General. New Jersey however, lags behind the national average of 12.7%.
“The appointment of the first woman as chief of police is both a proud and historic day for the municipality. The borough is grateful for Chief Botti’s dedication and hard work over the last 20 years, and her leadership has been and will continue to be greatly valued for many years to come," said Jason Gonter, the borough's administrator. "We look forward to not only working with Chief Botti in her new official capacity as chief of police, but cultivating a productive working relationship, united as a team leading the borough forward.”
Botti has been helping keep the peace here since 2004, when she was hired as a boots-on-the-street patrol officer. In four years she made detective and was trained by the FBI as a hostage/crisis negotiator. She later joined the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team as a negotiator.
She was promoted in 2012 to sergeant and again in 2021 to lieutenant. Following the announcement of Chief Paul Habermann's retirement, she had been serving as acting police chief since August.
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Botti, who lives in Middletown with her husband and two children, was raised in Aberdeen and graduated from St. John Vianney, a private Catholic school in Holmdel. It was on her way to high school when she witnessed a bad car accident and emergency response that she first felt inspired to serve.
"I saw the first responders rushing around helping and I thought 'Wow, I think I can do that. I think I can be part of that team.' So from that point forward I put all of my focus into pursuing a law-enforcement career," Botti said.
Her primary focus now, she said, is seeing that the borough has a well-educated and trained police force.
Botti's contract is for three years. She will start at $169,582 now, but will see three pay increases from $174,000 to $179,000 and eventually to $185,000 in the final year of her contract.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: West Long Branch NJ new police chief is first woman to hold that title
