Linden police chief announced yesterday his intention to retire just after a little over a year as chief in the Linden Police Department.
Chief Jonathan Parham announced yesterday that he will retire from the Police Department effective December 31st.
Parham, 47, joined the department in 1992 before leaving to work with the Union County Prosecutor's Office as lead drill instructor at the police academy.
Parham later returned to the department to head the community policing unit and later founded and ran the department's counter-terrorism unit.
He has also worked with state department's of Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and has been a municipal representative on the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Parham graduated from Linden High in 1987 and is married with two adult children.
Parham was appointed to chief on Sept. 1, 2016, making him the first black chief in Linden.