As reported by nj.com, Garry McCarthy was named Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department today, ending his four-year tenure at the helm of New Jersey’s largest police department, according to law enforcement officials.

Chicago mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel stood side by side with McCarthy during a press conference, officially putting Newark’s top cop in charge of the 13,000 member police department after weeks of speculation that he was the favorite to claim the job.

McCarthy was named one of three finalists by Chicago’s civilian police review board last week, alongside two high-ranking Chicago Police officials. Several media outlets branded him the favorite for the job because of his track record of success in large urban police departments. McCarthy, who also had a storied career with the New York Police Department, was a finalist for the Chicago Superintendent’s position once before, in 2003. It was not immediately clear who will replace him in Newark.

McCarhty’s four years as the director in Newark were marked by strategic successes and public image headaches. Hired by Mayor Cory Booker in 2006, McCarthy has been credited with driving down the city’s violent crime rate over the past four years. He recently pushed for the wildly effective “Ceasefire” model, an anti-gang community outreach strategy, to be used in the state’s largest city. The city’s homicide total, which routinely hit triple digits before McCarthy’s arrival, dropped steadily from 2006 to 2009.

In those same four years, McCarthy became engaged in hostile and public battles with the city’s Superior Officer’s Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, who last year filed a petition alleging rampant misconduct throughout the department, calling for a federal monitor to oversee the agency.

Deborah Jacobs, the executive director of the ACLU, said McCarthy’s departure is “great with respect to our petition,” claiming the 51-year-old director was resistant to changes called for in the ACLU’s petition for federal oversight of the department last year.

“Director McCarthy came to Newark promising to reform Internal Affairs, and it simply hasn’t happened. The Newark Police Department remains in need to fundamental changes to ensure accountability,” Jacobs said. “Now, our primary concern is that Mayor Booker conducts an open and transparent process for his next appointment so that the public knows what it’s getting.”

The scramble for a new Director will begin during a critical time for the Department. In addition to the ACLU’s petition, the state’s largest city is battling a surge in violent crime, which followed the layoff of 162 police officers last year.

Tags: Articles, Chicago Police Department, Newark Police Department, Newark Police Director
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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