Lt. Thomas Archer Retires, Police Department Begins Some Restructuring

The said goodbye to one of its finest this week as Lt. Thomas Archer, who served the department for almost three decades, has retired as of this week.

“Tommy is probably one of the nicest guys I have worked with in my 32 years. We will really miss him. He will be tough to replace,” said Chief Michael Colaneri.

Lt. Archer has been with the department for 27 years. In recent years he ran the department’s Traffic Bureau. In this role, Archer was in charge of the school crossing guards and marshals and he was very well liked by all of them as well, Colaneri said. He said Archer spent his entire career in Hasbrouck Heights and also resided in the borough until more recently when he moved to central Jersey.

Councilman Justin DiPisa, who serves as police commissioner said about Archer, “He has been a real asset to our town and children’s safety.”

Some restructuring is being done in the department, Colaneri said as the traffic bureau will be served by two officers, Ian Robertson and Scott Adamo, who will focus mainly on traffic enforcement where as Archer dealt with mainly administrative duties.

Traffic is one of the biggest issues in town, Colaneri said, adding that it really will take two people to replace Archer.

The departure of Lt. Archer now brings the police department roster currently at 28 which technically is considered two men short, Colaneri confirmed.

Many years ago the department was at 31 men which was considered full strength, Colaneri said, but with budget constraints the department has been operating at 29 men. He hopes that the department will be able to add one patrolman in the near future to bring the department back up to 29 members.

The police department is also experimenting with new shift times. Colaneri explained that since Jan. 1 officers have been working in 12-hour shifts. It’s something the officers wanted to try and they are currently testing it out to see how it works, he said.