MANCHESTER – Lisa Parker spent part of her first day of retirement watching a good friend and fellow officer being sworn in to the position she held for the last six years.
She had retired on June 30 after serving the department for 32 years.
Her father, Larry Parker Sr. who was also a police officer, pinned on her badge when she was sworn in back in March 2015. Days before she took the oath of service as chief, she said “nothing makes me prouder than becoming the next chief and continuing to uphold the tradition of excellence set by those leaders who came before me.”
Parker created a Victim Intervention Program (VIP) as part of her master’s thesis prior to becoming chief. That program served to increase police officers’ knowledge of domestic violence, empower victims, and prevent violence through strict law enforcement. It also became a model for the State of New Jersey.
At that time Parker was serving as a police detective and was recognized with the 1998 Women of Influence award for her work in domestic violence. She became the second female police chief in Ocean County.
Parker told The Manchester Times that she would greatly miss the job and those she worked with but she knew it was the right time to turn the reins over to someone else.
“I am trying to be present in the moment,” Parker said in her last days as chief. “When people stop by my office, I want to talk with them because I’m going to miss them terribly. I was trying to get as much done as I can so I don’t leave anything undone for the next chief.”
She added, “A lot of cops have this saying, you’ll know when you know. You will know when it is time to go. I thought I was going to be much like my father who left when he was 65 and still says he wished he never had to leave that job. He never wanted to leave it.
“I was wondering would I be like my father or would I have my own path? I do work a lot and I do like to work a lot and I enjoy and love my job. None of that has changed. I really work with amazing people who are like family to me. I just felt, though, that it was time. I had done all the things I had promised to do. All the things I had set my goals on, they were completed,” Parker said.
She said it was time to move on to the next chapter of her life and to “let the next person lead and to let other people get promoted. When I leave, there is a sergeants list that is expiring – these people will get promoted now. If I stayed past September, they wouldn’t get promoted. I can’t wait to see Antonio Ellis get promoted. I’m going to cry like a baby.”
Ellis suffered for months after contracting the coronavirus last year. “He’ll always have a special place in my heart. He’s our Manchester miracle. A lot of amazing things happen. It isn’t just about me, it’s about other people getting promoted, other people having the opportunity to lead. I feel the vision I had has been completed.”
Parker said that now was time “for someone else to have their vision and to take this department even further and to do better things, more things for Manchester.”
She began her career on May 1, 1989 and rose to serve in various departments, spending her entire law enforcement career with the township police force.
One of the greater challenges of being the chief was dealing with the COVID-19 health crisis.
“I came back from the FBI National Academy and we went straight into the EMS (formation). I came back Memorial Day and we started to build the paid EMS and we went operational March 1 of 2020,” she recalled. “Eight days later, we had the pandemic. The EMTs of our EMS were heroic. No one really knew what COVID-19 was and what the outcome could be. We knew we had a very sick officer so we had front row seats to the horrific results of what it could do.”
Parker said the new EMTs, “went into these COVID-rich environments to serve their community and didn’t even blink twice.” Several officers got sick, and fortunately, the only one who was seriously ill, Ellis, recovered.
During the worst of COVID, the day-to-day police work still had to continue, in addition to all the issues brought on by the emergency. She oversaw the inaugural year of the EMS while interfacing with the three volunteer fire stations.
“I took that all very serious because I knew from my experience with Antonio that having proper procedures and protocols was lifesaving decisions that had to be made. I had an amazing staff who literally worked around the clock with me,” Parker said noting that protective equipment was being gathered from all over the country. She also worked with a core group of police chiefs and spoke with each other to learn from their experiences.
Working during the pandemic felt like 10 years not just one and a half years, Parker remarked. “I need to take a break. I’m tired. I’ve given it my all. I just feel it is time for someone else take the reins.”
That someone is Capt. Robert “Bobby” Dolan, a 29-year veteran of the department. Parker called him an exceptional officer and good friend and she has full confidence in his ability to lead the department. She also called Kenneth Palmer, who resigned as mayor, her “best boss” who will make a great superior court judge.
Her immediate retirement plans consist of simply resting. “I’ve worked since 6th grade. My first job was babysitting three kids. I’ve worked every summer since then – many times doing two jobs, especially during college – and this will be my first summer off. I will enjoy it with my boys, my friends and family. I just need to take a break. I feel that I need to rebalance and refocus.”
She added, “I’ve been going and hard charging work, work, work and I need to just take a breath. I plan on spending some time focusing on good workouts and taking a breath before I take a look at my next adventure. I won’t sit around for long. I have never not worked. I don’t know how to sit still. I am going to train myself to sit still for the summer and then I’ll see what will come next.”
