This year, Autism New Jersey proudly established its Law Enforcement Initiative. Through our Power of Connection, we aim to bring together individuals and entities in law enforcement and the autism community to identify best practices in a variety of areas and encourage more law enforcement entities to adopt autism-friendly practices.
The first phase of this bold initiative involves gathering information and developing relationships with key stakeholders. Our initial priority of this phase was to establish a Law Enforcement Advisory Committee. This critical committee consists of several law enforcement officers with diverse backgrounds, geographic representation, and experience working with autistic individuals and their families.
Please join us in acknowledging our Law Enforcement Advisory Committee members:
| Major Thomas Wieczerak |  | New Jersey State Police |  |
| Chief Timothy Barlow |  | Tewksbury Township Police |  |
| Chief Kevin Kesselman |  | NJIT Police |  |
| Chief Emmanuel Miranda |  | Newark Police Department |  |
| Chief of Detectives Mitchell McGuire |  | Essex County Prosecutor’s Office |  |
| Chief Michael K. Polaski |  | Robbinsville Township Police |  |
| Chief Christopher Winters |  | Pine Hill Police |  |
| Deputy Chief Camilo Mos |  | Newark Police Department | |
| Undersheriff Fitzgerald Figliuolo |  | Essex County Sheriff’s Department |  |
| Sheriff Amir Jones |  | Essex County Sheriff’s Department | |
| Captain Jason Gerba |  | Edison Police |  |
| Lieutenant Thomas Egan |  | Robbinsville Township Police | |
| Lieutenant Gregory Quintero |  | Somerset County Sheriff's Office - Corrections Division |  |
| Lieutenant David Schultz |  | Hamilton Police |  |
| Sergeant Richard Acosta |  | Union County Prosecutor’s Office |  |
| Sergeant Jesse Babcock |  | Franklin Borough Police Department |  |
| Sergeant Matthew Mieczkowski |  | Edison Police | |
| Detective Robert O’Hare |  | Hamilton Police | |
| Officer Eric Ciano |  | Elizabeth Police |  |
| Officer Joy Klapal |  | Livingston Police |  |
| Officer Michael Piperato |  | Edison Police PBA Local #75 President |  |
| Corporal Brian M. Fennessy |  | Point Pleasant Police Department |  |
| Captain Michael Matunas |  | Spring Lake Heights Police Department |  |
| Lieutenant Jason R. Larsen |  | Montgomery Township Police Department |  |
| Sergeant Khisha L. Bethea |  | Plainfield Police Department |  |
| Sergeant Dennis McSweeney |  | New Jersey State Police | |
| Detective Scott Chertoff |  | Union County Prosecutor’s Office | |
The Law Enforcement Advisory Committee is charged with sharing their expertise, professional standards, real-world experiences, best practices, and connections to advise the organization in its efforts to advance safety, communication, and collaboration between the law enforcement and autism communities. The Law Enforcement Advisory Committee will oversee several Law Enforcement Sub-Committees covering specific challenges, opportunities, and initiatives throughout the state.
Are you a law enforcement officer, prosecutors’ office, or work in a related professional role? We welcome the opportunity to connect with you. Please email us at LE@autismnj.org.