WATCH: Howell Honors Retiring Police Chief, Welcomes New One

With pomp and ceremony, Howell Township honored one chief’s dedication to the community and welcomed his successor as the new head of the police department on Thursday.

You can watch the Change of Command ceremony video, used with permission of Gellman Images, below.

Chief Ronald Carter’s retirement after nearly 42 years of service to the township, including 22 as chief, was announced earlier this month.

Kudrick’s appointment as his successor was announced last week.

Kudrick, who has lived in Howell for 38 years, became involved with the department as a Police Explorer in 1990, according to a news release from the township. He rose through the Explorer ranks to the level of captain and was an active member until 1994. From 1994 to 2002 Kudrick served as an adult adviser to the Explorers and Continues to work with this youth program to this day. Becoming a member of the Howell Police Explorer Post was one of “the best and one of the most important decisions” he ever made, Kudrick said.

His work as an employee of the department began in 1993, when he was hired as a full-time 911 telecommunications operator. In 1995 he was hired as a patrolman, and worked as a field training officer for the department for several years, training new officers how to perform the duties of a law enforcement professional.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2002 and was a first-line supervisor within the uniformed Patrol Division;became a lieutenant in 2005 and was the training unit supervisor and later commander of the patrol division until 2012. In October 2012, Kudrick was promoted to captain where he served within the Administrative, Operations and Service divisions.

Kudrick also served as a member of the department’s Emergency Services Unit; assisted in the development of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team (MOCERT), where he remained in a leadership position until 2012. He also was a canine handler.

Kudrick also served as a member of the honor guard from 2000-2010, and is a New Jersey certified police instructor and teaches at the Monmouth County Police Academy.

Kudrick has received numerous awards for outstanding service to the community throughout his career and has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and is also a certified public manager and graduated from the West Point Command and Leadership program in 2007.

Kudrick also has been a firefighter and associate of the Adelphia Fire Company in Howell Township since 1986. He and his wife, Barbara, grew up together and have been married for 16 years and have a 13-year-old son.

(Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick and his wife, Barbara, and their son at the change of command ceremony. Photo from the Howell Township Facebook page)