Hopatcong Officer Always Wanted to Help—And Does

It didn't make sense. Yet it made plenty of sense.

A freak pre-Halloween snowstorm had just clobbered the Northeast. Hopatcong looked like Tim Burton's idea of a snow globe. Snapped trees. Downed power lines. Streets lingering in blackness.

Then the Hopatcong police department's dispatch phone rang. The caller—a resident asking if the borough's warming center would stay open overnight—soon recognized the voice on the other end. But he couldn't believe it. It's rare when a police officer answers a dispatch phone. It's more rare when a veteran officer answers it at 9:39 p.m. on a Sunday.

"Who is this?" the caller said.

"Who do you think it is?" the voice said.

Of course, it was Bob Haffner.

'He does it all'

Haffner, 45, has worn more hats than a Major League Baseball player during his time with Hopatcong police.

He's the department's Patrolman's Benevolent Association president; Office of Emergency Management coordinator; emergency services coordinator; a community policing officer; the Community Emergency Response Team coordinator; a co-founder of Hopatcong's Armed Forces Relief Committee; the Police Explorers head; a bicycle patrolman; and a baby seat safety instructor.

But Haffner said he cherishes his role as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education instructor within Hopatcong schools the most.

"That's the most rewarding thing," he said. "All the kids know me as Officer Bob. I get to have a personal relationship with the kids. No, we don't get to grab them all and steer them the right way. But get a lot of them to understand that they should get away from drugs and drinking."

Police Chief John Swanson said he's rarely seen Haffner, a 14-year officer, relax.

"He does it all," Swanson said. "He's always got something going on, be it with the CERT team or the Explorers or emergency services. The guy doesn't say no. And, in fact, he's usually planning ahead.

"You see him out at all the events. With Bob, you just get the feeling he really enjoys what he does and coming out to work everyday. That's important."

Hopatcong Mayor Sylvia Petillo said Haffner "makes the job look easy."

"He's just capable of handling so much at one time," she said. "He never complains. He just does whatever has to be done and does it will a smile on his face."

Petillo said days after Hurricane Irene battered Hopatcong, leaving thousands without electricity, she drove with Haffner around the borough for a couple of hours trying to help those in need. Petillo said the pair found an older woman who was living with her family and had a hard time navigating their house in the dark. So Haffner explained to the family how to better illuminate the house inexpensively until power was restored.

"He's always able to find a way to help somebody in need," Petillo said.

His father's son

Growing up, Haffner knew he'd have a job helping people.

His father, Joe, was a volunteer fire chief on Long Island. Haffner said he spent lots of time around policemen and fire fighters.

"That was one of the reasons I'm a cop now," he said. "[My dad] always put me on the straight an narrow. … He was all fireman. He gave it his all. When he was there, it was his life."

And while Haffner, who has spent time as a fireman and an EMT, learned about public service through his dad, his criminal justice base came from spending nine years as a dispatcher.

"It prepared me," he said. "I knew [becoming a police officer] was something I always wanted to do, so it prepared me for what I was going to see in the field."

Always thinking

After Hurricane Irene left its mark on Hopatcong, the department looked for ways to assist residents until Jersey Central Power & Light restored electricity to the borough.

The CERT team checked on senior citizens and others in need. Police established road closures to keep drivers from floods, snapped trees or hanging wires. The Department of Public Works set about fixing damage.

Then Swanson heard of an idea to get free water to residents without electricity. And 10 minutes later, large water containers were secured to for pickup the next day from Sussex County authorities.

The man behind the idea?

Of course, it was Bob Haffner.

“I love coming to work,” he said. “I truly enjoy helping people.”