Wayne Cops Mourn Department’s First-Ever Policewoman

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne police are honoring the life of retired Officer Gloria Hinderlong, Badge 41.

The 87-year-old, who died on March 19, served as the Wayne Police Department’s first female officer.

According to her obituary, Hinderlong worked at the Wayne Police Department every day after school and on Saturdays until she graduated.

In 1959, Hinderlong was hired as a special officer. She soon took the exam to become a full-time officer, for which she earned the second-highest score out of 200 applicants, her obituary said.

It was in 1966 when, due to police training legislation changes, Hinderlong was required to attend formal police academy training. She graduated from the academy and worked as a Wayne policewoman for seven more years.

During her career, she often assisted state police in undercover work.

In 1973, Hinderlong resigned from the force to attend to her ill parents.

In the early 1990s, she returned to the Wayne Police Department to serve as the Juvenile Bureau unit secretary before retiring in 2014.

Hinderlong loved gardening and crafting, but her “biggest love of all was her time spent working at the Wayne Police Department.”

She is survived by her daughter Lisa Inzalaco and her son Bryon Hinderlong, his wife Michelle, and her daughter Nicole Yatonsky.