Around the Kearny Police Department, there is one person who, when there’s a question about technology, almost everyone goes to — Sgt. Tom Sumkowski. He’s in charge of all the cameras, radios, surveillance — all things technological. So it should come as no surprise that over the last few weeks, Sumkowski has been diligently setting up one of the greatest tech marvels in all Hudson County, if not all of northeast Jersey — the Kearny Police Department’s new mobile command center.
And to start? The massive Mercedes Benz vehicle cost Kearny’s taxpayers not a single cent — the funds to purchase it all came from forfeited recovered money from illicit activities.
Sumkowski will be joined by Sgt. Richard Poplaski Jr. — known intimately as “The Ski Patrol” — as the two who will get to use this incredible vehicle when it needed, say for a barricaded subject and the link. The two — along with Police Committee Chairman and Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Ficeto — gave The Observer a chance to see it in person Thursday, June 26. And to say the very least, it didn’t disappoint for a second.
When one first enters the center, by climbing four stairs from the ground, it’s obvious from the get-go how impressive this vehicle is. One is greeted by nine monitors that are attached to nine cameras mounted all over the unit. There’s a joystick nearby Poplaski and Sumkowski will be able to use to move the camera mounted on a mast — whether it’s to tilt and pan or to go higher or lower to zoom in on a possible suspect or subject. The clarity of the cameras — incredible, despite being as what Sumkowski described as “low-res.” (He hopes to replace the cameras and screens with HD monitors and cameras eventually.)
“Say we’re on Bunny Hill and we have a missing kid, we could take this (masted) camera along with the town camera that’s down there and zoom into the hill to try to locate who we’re looking for. So we can just do that so easily now,” Poplaski said.
Also, there is a PC with an HD monitor that may be used to directly tap into the Kearny PD’s computer system and computer-aided dispatch, records, all the cameras installed about town, allowing the sergeants to access critical data needed during a mobile operation. Sumkowski also purchased brackets for four more monitors to be placed along the wall so they can simultaneously monitor different camera locations, drone feeds, maps of the area and the like.
It’s all powered by a 5G cell router and modem Sumkowski recently installed, allowing for anyone using the center to have access to very fast connection speeds.
“Basically, we can do anything here you could do on a computer inside,” Sumkowski said. “and the unit could be used if, God forbid, we have something happen where we had to leave the building, like a fire, we’d be able to use this vehicle to keep things running.”
Poplaski also talked about a computer program he and Sumkowski used last July 4 that will be available for the units using the vehicle — it’s a virtual command center.
“Essentially, it will map out where your event is and it logs every single event that happened during the fireworks,” Poplaski said. “So, say we have a missing kid, I could go in and type in ‘missing kid’ or ‘missing child’ and put a description out — and what’s nice about it is anybody who has access to this system, like our drone guys (Rich Pawloski and Jordy Jean) — I could send a text message to their phone from that system to give them a whole description, what the kid’s name is, the age, so if any officer has access to that system, they can access it. And then at the end, it prints out a log with timestamps … it keeps track of everything from start to finish.”
The system will be next used Friday, July 4, during the town’s firework celebration.
The rest of the vehicle has conveniences for the folks who will have to station the vehicle. There’s a refrigerator that looks like it’s never been used before (keep in mind this is an ex-military vehicle that got little use over time.) There’s a microwave oven. A coffee pot. And Sumkowski will be bringing in an extra Keurig machine for instant access to often much needed joe.
On the other side of the vehicle, there’s a conference room with tables and chairs and several TVs/monitors for even more access to cameras and data.
It’s all powered by a water-cooled diesel generator (on the back of the vehicle) that keeps all electrical units up and running. It also keeps the place airconditioned in the warmth of the summer and warm in the depths of winter and the colder months.
There’s also a shore line so if there’s mobile power available, they won’t necessarily need to use the generator for energy. There’s a PA system, too, so if anything needs to be amplified — say in a crowd, of if a subject is barricade indoors — it can certainly be heard, clearly.
If officers need to be perched higher than the ground or the unit, there’s a ladder in the back of the vehicles that leads to the roof. The drone unit, Poplaski notes, could easily go up there to launch, land and monitor their flying units.
There’s also a unit that kicks in if power fluctuates or if the generator fails, and thus, no critical data or access to it will ever be lost.
There are leveling jacks that go out to keep the vehicle balanced, especially for “when the masts go up,” Poplaski said. “We may not need them but if something drastic happens, they’re there.
Under the hood up front, the engine that allows the vehicle to travel from storage to a location, is an 8-cylinder Mercedes Benz with minimal mileage on it. It, too, like the generator, is powered by diesel fuel.
In all, this impressive vehicle “will definitely get good use,” Sumkowski said.
And you’ll get to see it all in action July 4 if you’re at the town fireworks celebration.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.