Camden's state-appointed police director resigns

The top police official in Camden resigned yesterday, becoming the third city leader to quit this week and leaving the department with its seventh leadership change in as many years.

The turnover raises more questions about the future leadership of the troubled city at a time when other departures are on the horizon: Mayor Gwendolyn Faison is not running for reelection, and Council President Angel Fuentes is seeking a state Assembly seat.

This week's resignations, which included that of Theodore Z. Davis, the governor's appointed leader of the city, do not appear to be related. But even those running the city acknowledge the upheaval.

"There's a lot of changes in Camden for 2010, that's for sure," Fuentes said.

Yesterday, it was Police Director Louis Vega's turn to say he would be leaving. His last day is Aug. 31.

Vega, a veteran of several police departments, including New York's, was hired last summer by the New Jersey attorney general to oversee a new state-led safety plan.

Last month, a TV station in Corpus Christi, Texas, reported that Vega had submitted his resumé for the police chief's job there, but in a statement Vega released yesterday, he said he was leaving for family reasons.

"During this past year, it became quite clear that my wife was unable to adjust to being away from our grandchildren in Florida, and could not reacclimatize herself to the lifestyle or the cold weather here in New Jersey," Vega said.

"We decided it was time to return home and be with our daughters and grandchildren."

Vega is a 38-year police veteran. He has not disclosed his age.

Davis, the chief operating officer, resigned without explanation on Monday. His last day also is Aug. 31.

And the man who has led the redevelopment of the city's waterfront, Thomas Corcoran of Cooper's Ferry Development Association, left this week to take a similar position in Philadelphia.

Vega's police-director position was created by Attorney General Anne Milgram last summer. At the same time, Milgram hired as police chief John Scott Thomson, 37, who came up through the ranks of the city department.

Vega wears a suit to work and is in charge of personnel, finances, and policy-making. Thomson wears a uniform, runs day-to-day operations, and has been the public face of the department.

"Louis Vega was an important partner in our fight against violent crime in the city and the steps taken to increase the police's presence in the community," Thomson said in an e-mail. "I wish him nothing but the best as he returns to Florida to spend more time with his family."

Under Vega and Thomson, the department underwent significant changes, both internally and on the streets.

Several police officers have been fired and several more have retired, according to police union officials, who criticize the brass over what they call unfair labor practices and legally questionable police tactics.

Vega and Thomson have gotten more officers out of desk jobs and onto the streets. In an effort to curtail more serious crime, the number of arrests for minor offenses has increased.

Most significantly, the homicide rate has declined, even as the crime rate in other areas went up.

"There were significant steps made in the last year," said David Wald, an attorney general's spokesman. "These are steps taken to aggressively address violent crime in the city."

There are plans to replace Vega, Wald said. But some wonder if that's necessary.

Rutgers-Camden professor Jon'a Meyer, a city resident and criminal justice expert, said "it didn't make sense" to have both a police director and a police chief.

"I didn't think that individual was all that respected by the officers, because they viewed their chief as the leader," Meyer said of Vega.

Though Thomson was technically Vega's underling, Thomson is paid $153,813, compared with Vega's salary of $150,000.

"You've got a too-many-chiefs, not-enough-Indians kind of a problem here," Meyer said.

Meyer said the yearly changes in police leadership occur because "the public tends to want to blame someone for problems."

"Whenever there's a problem, people start demanding heads, and when you demand heads, you're going to have a lot of turnover," she said. "You will have so much change in leadership in some cities, you can't really create a stable organization."

So many people are responsible for policing in Camden that infighting has been a problem. The Camden City chief operating officer, the Camden County prosecutor, the state attorney general, and the governor all have some semblance of control. In another prominent role is a former police chief from North Jersey, Jose Cordero, who is the state's director of gangs, guns, and violent crime.

Signs of inconsistent leadership came to light last month, when Vega and Thomson, in separate interviews, presented starkly different views of crime in Camden.

Vega said guns were not more prevalent than in previous years. He also said very little violence was gang-related.

Thomson rebutted both points, saying that gangs and guns were more of a problem than ever in the city and that the department must give those issues priority.

Fuentes said that as far as he was concerned, it was up to the attorney general to replace Vega.

"Am I comfortable with Chief Thomson? Yes, I really am, but it's really the attorney general's call," he said.