I entered police work in 1980, at the tender age of 31 (obviously old enough to know better). Upon completing my academy training I was assigned as a patrol officer. In 1982 I was assigned as a training officer, and upon training one recruit, was assigned to the Records and Identification Bureau. R&I officers booked and processed all arrests, and maintained prisoners in a jail facility with a capacity of 19. Duties also included all departmental photography and photo processing, fingerprinting and classification, as well as processing and identifying fingerprints. We conducted all computer look-ups and entries, as well as criminal record and warrant checks. In 1984 that bureau was civilianized, and I was returned to patrol for six months until being assigned to the detective bureau. As a detective, I worked the burglary squad, and was the crime scene and evidence investigator for major crimes. In 1986 I was promoted to sergeant, and it was back to patrol as a road supervisor, until early 1989, when the department decided that both they and I needed a break. At that time I was assigned to the Service Bureau as supervisor of the fleet & garage staff, property room, records archives, physical plant maintenance, and capital improvement programs. I remained in that position until being promoted to lieutenant in 1992. As a Lieutenant, I was assigned to the patrol division as a shift commander, and served in that capacity for nine years. In 2001 I was promoted to Captain, and you guessed it, it was back to patrol, this time as the Patrol Division Commander.
Over my career, those in both the police and fire divisions have come to the belief that I have a black cloud that follows me around. It seems that if it is off the wall, and it is going to happen, it will happen when I am working. I believe that they may be stretching the truth a tad, although I must admit that while a detective, we averaged a homicide a month, a trent that ended with my promotion. In 1997 we had seven homicides, two fatal accidents, and a police shooting, with all, except two of the homicides, occurring or being discovered on my shift. I must add that in the homicides, I tentatively identified the body in the first one, found the body in the second, and I was within 20 feet of the scene at the time of the shooting. This trend has continued into the new millennium, with the year the new century reflecting the past and adding to the legend of "life with Edwards." Last year my shift has had a treed Black Bear.......in the heart of one of our urban drug zones; a deer with a perfectly symmetrical 8 point antler rack....who didn't quite make it over a cemetery fence; and a suspicious death by train, where yours truly found the remains............Hmmmmm, perhaps that is why those detectives keep mumbling "the grim reaper" every time they pass me in the hallway...............
I also serve as an academy instructor, certified by the State of N.J. Dept. of Public Safety, Div. of Criminal Justice, Police Training Commission. I primarily serve at the John H. Stamler Police Academy, which is operated under the direction of the the Union County Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the Union County Police Chiefs' Association. I currently instruct in the academy's basic recruit training program, instructing on fire, crowd and riot control, sniper-ambush, and unusual occurrences For seven years I instructed in advanced courses in latent fingerprint processing and in crime scene processing. Additionally, I have instructed in courses and seminars on homicide investigation, crime scene diagramming, and photography, as well as served as a panelist in officer survival courses at another state academy.
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