Fort Lee Police Chief, Deputy Chief Swearing In, Re-Org Dates Announced

The Fort Lee Mayor and Council will swear in a new police chief and deputy police chief at the governing body’s next regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 20, officials decided Thursday.

With Police Chief Thomas O. Ripoli reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, officials appointed Capt. Keith Bendul Police Chief and Capt. Timothy Ford Deputy Police Chief.

Saying the process of selecting Ripoli’s successor was “a lot of hard work” and lauding Bendul for his “incredible attention to detail,” Sokolich told Patch in October that the chief-deputy chief structure is something the Fort Lee Police Department hasn’t had for quite some time.

“In Fort Lee, for the first time in a long time, we’ll have a chief and a deputy chief,” Sokolich said at the time.

Bendul and Ford will be sworn at the Mayor and Council’s regular meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20 in Borough Hall’s council chambers.

Officials also said Thursday that the meeting would include a proclamation recognizing two Fort Lee High School filmmakers and a screening of their award-winning film.

“The 2012 Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow were actually Fort Lee residents for the first time,” said Councilman Jan Goldberg, adding that the Fort Lee Film Commission requested that the Mayor and Council screen the seven-minute film, Who Are We?, and issue the proclamation to FLHS student filmmakers Jiho Kim and Eric Jung.

The governing body’s annual reorganization meeting will take place on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m., officials also said Thursday.

Councilmen Joseph Cervieri and Harvey Sohmer were reelected in November, so there won’t be a lot to reorganize on the Council itself. But Sokolich will give his annual State of the Borough Address at the meeting.