NUTLEY/EAST ORANGE — The Nutley Belleville Columbus Day Parade Committee named East Orange Police Chief Phyllis L. Bindi as its 2026 grand marshal of the 2026 Nutley Belleville Columbus Day Parade. The parade is Sunday, Oct. 11.
Bindi made history at the East Orange Police Department in January 2017, when she obtained the rank of chief of police, the first female to ever be promoted to this position in the city of East Orange. She also made history in September 2016, when she was the first female ever promoted to the rank of deputy chief in the city of East Orange Police Department. The chief has been leading the department for five years, leading a department of 200 sworn personnel in a densely urban city that borders the largest city in the state.
Bindi was first sworn in as an officer in 1991 and, during her 30-year career in law enforcement, has served in multiple units while rising through the ranks to now lead a department that is nationally recognized as the leader in effective community relations, effective leadership, technology-led and proactive real-time policing. Bindi was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2002 and assigned to the Enhanced Community Safety Team, which was responsible for suppressing all street-level crime, with an emphasis on narcotics and gang-related crimes. Shortly after her successful stretch as supervisor of the Safety Team, Bindi was then promoted to lieutenant in April 2006, when she was assigned as the commander of the Enhanced Community Safety Team, before becoming responsible for the Field Training Unit, which monitored and mentored all new officers. As commander of the Field Training Unit, Bindi was instrumental in shaping the mindset of the new officers, teaching them the objectives and goals of the department, officer safety and how to be the best professional proactive officer. …