Chief Joseph D’Annibale

Chief of Police

Chief Joseph D’Annibale is a native of the Town of Newton, where he grew up and attended the Newton School District, graduating from Newton High School in 2001. In January 2004, he began his law enforcement career as a police officer and attended the Morris County Police Academy.

In 2006, he was hired by the Town of Newton Police Department, where he served as a patrolman for the next five years.
In April 2011, Joseph was reassigned to the Detective Bureau. During his tenure, he held several important roles, including Evidence Custodian, Police Liaison to the Newton School District, and Firearms Instructor. He views his experience in the Detective Bureau as a strong foundation for his continued career growth.

In February 2020, Joseph was promoted to Police Sergeant and took command of a patrol squad, supervising three patrol officers. He also served as the lead Firearms Instructor for the Newton Police Department. As a Sergeant, he received several accolades, including a Congressional Certificate of Recognition from Congressman Josh Gottheimer as a “Hometown Hero” for his courageous actions in extinguishing a fire inside a closed business. Additionally, he was awarded a Visions Lifesaving Award from Newton Medical Center for his life-saving CPR intervention.

In June 2022, Joseph was promoted to Lieutenant and took over the Support Services Division. In November of 2024, he was promoted to Chief of Police. 

He has overall responsibility for the administration of the Police Department which includes but is not necessarily limited to the following:

• General direction, control and administration
• Planning responsibilities
• External affairs
• Personnel files and records
• Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures
• Research/Grants
• Purchasing/procurement
• Budget preparation

Chief D’Annibale can be reached at (973) 383-2525 x264 or jdannibale@newtonpolice.org.

Lieutenant Daniel Finkle

Support Services Division Commander

Lt. Finkle’s duties and responsibilities include:

• Communications / 9-1-1
• Supervision, scheduling and training of the 9-1-1 Communications Operators
• Conduct background investigations on prospective 9-1-1 Communications Operators
• Receive and investigate citizen complaints against 9-1-1 Communications Operators
• Liaison to all agencies and municipalities that contract emergency telephone answering and/ or dispatching services with the Town of Newton
• Regularly reviews all audio tape recordings of telephone and radio communications
• Prepare audio recordings for evidence and/or pending court proceedings
• Computer Network
• Police Vehicle Maintenance
• Police Equipment
• Maintain the police vehicles’ mobile data terminals and in-car video recording system
• Maintain the departments breath testing equipment
• Maintain police, fire and EMS radio and communication equipment
• Supervision and scheduling of school crossing guards
• Conduct background investigations on school crossing guards
• Buildings and Grounds Security in and around police headquarters
• Certifies and monitors towing companies that tow for the police department
• Department Liaison to the Office of Emergency Management
• Maintaining records
• Required Budgeting
• Required Reporting

Lt. Finkle can be reached at (973) 383-2525 x 264 or dfinkle@newtonpolice.org.