COURT HOUSE – Middle Township’s police chief, Jennifer Pooler, has announced her retirement, effective a little over a year after she assumed the role. Pooler replaced Mayor Christopher Leusner on June 1 of last year; on Monday, Feb. 5, the Township Committee approved her retirement effective July 1.

Pooler did not attend the meeting and was unavailable for comment afterward.

Leusner praised her leadership of the department in the last year, saying that the township would have been in a difficult situation if she had not stayed and led the department following his departure.

Leusner, who was chief for 13 years, said that the department had experienced a number of command-level retirements in recent years. “Jennifer gave us an experienced hand when we needed it,” he said.

Committee members said they would like to have a period of overlap, with Pooler still in the post when a new chief is selected; that would necessitate selecting a new chief this spring.

“I expect the new chief will probably be in the job for a while,” Leusner added.

Pooler, a Middle Township native, graduated from the police academy in 2000 after serving as a dispatcher in Wildwood. When she was chosen to succeed Leusner she became the first woman chief of police in township history and only the third woman chief in the county after former Chief Diane Sorantino of the Cape City Police Department and current Chief Jacquelyn Ferentz of the West Wildwood Police Department.

Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.