Retiring Chief John Banning Casts a Long Shadow

There’s a new acting chief of police in Haddonfield today, but the shadow of the previous chief may be a little hard to get out of.

Ted Stuessey takes the helm of the 21-officer force today, and it’s the first day of retirement for John Banning after 30 years of patrolling borough streets.

Banning, 54, decided to step aside with a year remaining on his contract. He said it was time for “new blood” to take over the department.

“I want to start looking at other things to do,” Banning said. “I’m young enough to look other careers. I’ve stayed longer than most.”

Teaching is one of the options he is exploring. He plans to start substitute teaching in the fall in his hometown of Gloucester City.

Banning was raised in Gloucester City, a scrappy, blue-collar town on the Delaware River just south of Camden. It’s only a few miles away from Haddonfield, but a world of difference from this staid, leafy enclave.

The per capita income for Haddonfield of $56,000 annually is more than twice Gloucester City’s $23,000. Haddonfield schools are ranked at the top in South Jersey. Gloucester City’s are near the bottom. 

But Banning said he sees more similarities than disparities.

“There’s a tightness of community,” he said. Families stay for generations and there’s a since of community that make the towns a lot alike. I know the people of Haddonfield may not want to hear that.”

He said he could have moved away from Gloucester City years ago, but decided to stay with his wife and raise two sons.

“There are great neighbors who care about one another and stay together and work together. They have a lot of pride in the town. It’s similar to Haddonfield.”

Banning could easily be described as a strong-silent type. A regular presence in borough commissioners meetings, he usually only speaks when a question is addressed to him. But engaged in private conversation, he’s quick with wit and deadpan humor. But he steers away from practical jokes, a mainstay in many police departments where boredom can be more insidious than crime.

Ed Borden, a former borough commissioner who oversaw the police department until May, said Banning has been a steadying force in a department that had become adrift.

“What you see is what you get,” Borden said. “People may forget what the Haddonfield police department was like before John took over. It was fractious and had disputes. Under John it has been smooth sailing, no drama.”

He said his most enduring memory of Haddonfield will be the “amazing people” who live here.

“You touch a lot of people in the community, good and bad,” he said. "They may remember the ticket you gave them or the time you helped them in a crisis. You became part of the fabric of the community.”

Banning was in the leadership of the department for a decade before becoming chief. He was chief for just under four years. He’ll get to retire with 70-percent of his $115,000 salary.