
Charlie had the honor of hiring Officer Joyce Anne Carnegie on January 9th, 1995, completing his final hire of female officers, which took place from 1989 to 1995 during his appointment as Director of the Orange Police Department. Officer Carnegie worked as a patrolman until April 8th, 1999. While on Patrol, she was shot and killed by an armed robbery suspect she had stopped for questioning near the intersection of North Day Street and Freeway Drive West.
The suspect had just committed two muggings in the area minutes before and was walking toward Inspector Carnegie when she stopped him. As she approached him he drew his weapon and shot her before she had time to draw her own weapon. Although she was wearing a vest, she was shot in the head and abdomen. She was found next to her patrol car by a federal agent who happened to be in the area. The 25-year-old suspect pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole.
Inspector Carnegie is the first female officer to be killed in the line of duty in Essex County, New Jersey, and the second to be killed in the state. She had served with the Orange Police Department for four years and is survived by her mother Ernestine Carnegie.
“Reach Back with One Hand and Pull Someone Else Up With You.”
– Charles C. Cobbertt
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