Saddle Brook Officer Honed Tenacity, Dedication as Elite College Athlete

As a track and field standout at Northern Valley Old Tappan High School and later Rutgers University, Leigh Cadigan knows a little something about persistence and hard work.

The former cross country star who in college regularly willed his legs to endure some 100 miles of pounding per week -- rain, snow or shine -- en route to two All-Big East selections, reached a milestone in his professional life earlier this week.

Cadigan, now 35, was promoted Monday to Saddle Brook police sergeant. He called the experience, which he shared with his wife, Stephanie, and their four children, the proudest moment in his career.

"I'm looking forward to taking a leadership role and having the opportunity to get the best out of the officers in order to accomplish the goals and mission of the Saddle Brook Police Department," said Cadigan, a Cedar Grove resident.

Cadigan, who graduated from Rutgers with degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology, said he's had a lifelong interest in police work.

"In college I was very interested in the Criminal Justice/Criminology curriculum and my interest in the field expanded from there," he said.

After college, Cadigan worked in the Bloomfield Police Department for a year, before receiving an intergovernmental transfer to Saddle Brook in December 2003.

He's been a member of the Urban Area Security Initiative-Bergen County Rapid Deployment Team since 2005 and was named Police Officer of the Year in 2009.

With an active young family -- all of Cadigan's children are 8 or younger -- he no longer has time to run like he once did. Nowadays, the sergeant spends his free time whisking his kids to their sporting events. His sons play soccer and his daughter is a swimmer.

"We are all fans of Manchester United F.C. and the New York Red Bulls," he said.

The promotions to sergeant of Cadigan and Officer Anthony Maneri this week bring the number of supervisors in the department to 14 out of 25 total officers, Chief Bob Kugler said.

--

Follow Fair Lawn-Saddle Brook Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to receive our daily newsletter in your inbox each morning