Weehawken Township Deputy Police Chief William P. McLellan is one type of policeman who is careful about following administrative procedure but also carries decisions out in a realistic way. The Weehawken Police Department is a two-deputy police chief department, meaning there is no police chief designated. Deputy Chief McLellan is in charge of police and administration, and his counterpart Jeffrey T. Fulcher is deputy chief in charge of operations and emergency management. Both men reside in Weehawken.
Deputy Chief McLellan, who holds Mayor Richard Turner in high regard, was born in North Hudson Hospital, formerly in Weehawken and no longer a hospital, to his loving (now deceased) parents James and Grace. Deputy Chief McLellan has a brother, James, who is a Weehawken retired fire captain. His other brother Kevin is the superintendent of schools in Weehawken. Deputy Chief McLellan and his fiancée, the lovely Michelle Perry of Weehawken, will become man and wife in approximately two weeks, and many happy returns of your wedding day!
Deputy Chief McLellan is a graduate of Weehawken High School and achieved a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history in 1974 from New Jersey City University in Jersey City. Then in 1980, at the same university, he achieved a degree in criminal justice. That same year he also graduated from the Union County Police Academy, and began his police career in 1980 in Weehawken. In 1987 he was promoted to sergeant, and in 1990 became lieutenant. In 1999 he became a captain, and in 2005 became acting deputy chief. In 2006, he became permanent as full deputy police chief, and is proud to say that he passed all state exams as No. 1 on the lists, and presently has been a member of the police force for 30 years.
Deputy Chief McLellan has been in charge of internal affairs for the Police Department since 1999. He schedules police officers, their attendance, and vacation and sick time. He also oversees that all police vehicles are in working order, and also takes over the entire department whenever Deputy Chief Fulcher is unavailable, and vice-versa. Deputy Chief McLellan’s family has a history of public service, so he wanted to become a policeman, but only after realizing that a career in education was not for him. Police work turned out to be his passion. He taught Police Department Performance Objectives and Police Law at the Bergen County Police Academy for a period of time.
Deputy Chief McLellan is a member of the Police Benevolent Association No. 15 and at a prior time he served as a Democratic Party committeeman. In the past he has also taught school children about “Police On Duty,” and has been a member of “Adopt-A-Cop!” Some awards he has received in the past include the Combat Cross in 1984, while dealing with an armed adversary, and he was named a Policeman of the Month by the Detective Crime Clinic of the Tri-State Area. He has also been involved with the Annual Read Across America with grammar school students and plans to join the Weehawken Elks Lodge later this year. Within the Weehawken Police Department he is in charge of the Random Drug Testing Program for all police officers. All part of his duties as deputy police chief, said McLellan!
Leisure activities find him watching his favorite teams on TV, namely the Celtics, New York Yankees, and the New York Giants. As for music, he likes the Beatles, and popular and country music. He does attend Broadway plays with his fiancé and his daughter Christina, who resides in North Bergen, and is studying to be a teacher. He also likes to walk and sometimes jog, and likes to read American history, and crime stories.
He has traveled to Spain and Portugal, to Mexico and Canada, cruised the Caribbean, been to Florida, and cross-country USA. However, before closing this interview, the deputy chief took pride in telling me that he has been a member and participant in the special Olympics-NJ, and in 2010 was the Weehawken supervisor of the event which walked through the Lincoln Tunnel, regarding the organization. Thus, to Deputy Chief William McLellan, a great policeman, and a fine public servant – All the best!
Guttenberg husband and wife duo Frank Rodriguez and Wanda Arriaga we hear are wonderful stage performers. Keep up the great performing arts, we hear you’re both terrific!
United States Army First Class Robert G. Dietz has graduated from the Fire Support Specialist Advanced Individual Training course at Fort Sill, in Lawton, Oklahoma. He is the son of Helen G. Dietz of Union City. Congratulations Private Dietz!
Vanessa Rodriguez of West New York recently graduated with honors from Kean University in Essex County. Best wishes Ms. Rodriguez!
Nicole Degehnardt of Secaucus was a member of the 2010 Softball Team at Felician College in Lodi, New Jersey. The college is a NCAA Division II member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Congrats to you, Ms. Degehnardt!
Erick Barillas and his lovely wife Elvira of North Bergen will be grandparents soon. Happy grandpa Erick tells us that his daughter Erin and husband Adrian are expecting a girl this August, 2010 and they will name the baby girl Ava! Many happy returns of the great day!
And so it goes… until next time… see you around town… MATT.
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