HELLO!
Meet Chief Sean Riggin
[tribe_mini_calendar]
Chief Sean Riggin began his career in government service in 1994. He served in the United States Army Special Operations Command as a Civil Affairs Specialist, Arab Linguist, and later as an Engineer, visiting numerous countries during his service including a tour in Sarajevo Bosnia during the Bosnian conflict.
Chief Riggin entered law enforcement in 1998, first as a Corrections Officer and Drill Instructor, and later as a Pleasantville police officer. During the course of his career Chief Riggin has specialized in the areas of street crime interdiction and community outreach, leading the department’s street crime initiative for five years and serving as the community liaison from 2009 until he was appointed as chief in 2015.
Upon being appointed to his current position, Chief Riggin initiated the first ever Police-Community Advisory Board and invited NAACP, National Action Network, the Fellowship of Churches, the and Coalition for a Safe Community to receive a comprehensive monthly briefing on the operations of the department. As a result of his dedication to the belief that effective policing for today’s society is inclusive, educated, and ethical, this board is a cornerstone of Chief Riggin’s administration. The board continues to meet monthly and is open to the public.
In 2016, Chief Riggin and Jim Schroeder III Esq, founded the Pleasantville Police Foundation to facilitate additional community engagement as well as to create a chartering organization for the re-establishment of Police Explorer Post #100, which had been closed in 2002. The Police Foundation has proven to be a significant asset to the Pleasantville community, co-funding the department’s acquisition of Body Cameras, K9 dogs, outreach events and annual scholarships.
In 2017, Chief Riggin volunteered to aid the rescue mission in the Caribbean, first deploying personally to St. John in the US Virgin Islands in the immediate wake of Hurricane Irma, then helping to coordinate a response to Hurricane Maria with the New Jersey State Police deployment of police officers from Pleasantville.
In 2018 Chief Riggin was asked to assume command of the Pleasantville Fire Department as the City’s Fire Director to oversee the reorganization of a 40-member professional firefighting organization. He was also asked to assume responsibility for Emergency Management and the City’s Joint Insurance Fund as its Fund Commissioner, eventually assuming command responsibility for over 100 first-responders and more than 1/3 of the total municipal budget.
Chief Riggin currently serves as Chairman of the Police Training Advisory Board of Atlantic County and the Pleasantville Housing Authority Program Committee. He also holds executive board positions for the Coalition for a Safe Community, the Atlantic County Association of Chiefs of Police, and serves as a member of the Men of Pleasantville, the Jewish Family Services Advisory Board, Boy Scout Troop 26, and other local organizations.