Longtime Shrewsbury Officer Dies

Shrewsbury is mourning the loss of Sgt. Allan C. Morris, a borough police officer who died suddenly on Friday, April 22. Morris, 58, was a 25-year veteran of the small department and was set to retire after a career of dedicated service at the end of June. He is survived by his wife Penny and the couple’s daughter Gabriela.

According to a release from the borough, Morris was a consummate professional police officer. He was a mentor to young officers of the Shrewsbury Police Department. As a Traffic Safety Officer, he was instrumental in implementing measures to insure the safety of Shrewsbury school children. His loss is deeply felt by Shrewsbury and the Monmouth County law enforcement community.

Councilman Tom Menapace, a former Federal Bureau of Investigations agent and the council’s liaison to the police department, said he’d remember Morris as a mentor to younger officers on the force.

“He was one of these guys who was very detail oriented, a very dedicated, and really bright guy,” he said. “The type of guy who if a young officer came to him with a question, he would make sure they not only had the answer, but the right answer.

“I’ve known him for a number of years and both professionally and personally, he was a really great guy.”

The pair first met in the late 1980’s, Menapace said, when they worked together on a local bank robbery. The kind of thoroughness with which Morris handled his job was evident then, when he was a young officer, and stayed with him throughout his career.

“He works hard for 25 years and he’s looking forward to free time with his family and for this to happen,” Menapace said. “The only way I can put it is that it’s profoundly sad.”

Allan was a dedicated volunteer for several charities, including the Special Olympics, the release states.

Morris' death was apparently not related to his job.

Shrewsbury’s mayor and council, Chief John Wilson III, and Shrewsbury Borough Police Benevolent Association Local 308, extends their deepest sympathy and support to Penny, Gabriela, and all of Allan’s family and friends. We grieve with them and pray they find comfort in Allan’s memory, the release said.

Wilson said the department is shocked at Morris’ passing. He recalled a man who was always physically active, a man who loved to play hockey and stuck with it despite getting older and despite a couple of surgeries to a knee and a shoulder that wouldn’t keep him from doing what he loved.

Wilson said Morris was involved in the department’s charitable efforts and helped organize the Special Olympics for the past 15 years, giving it up only at the end of last years as he looked toward retirement.

As a cop, Wilson knew Morris as others did, as a consummate professional.

“He was very much by the book. He followed what he had to do, knew what he had to do and handled it,” he said. “It’s a damn shame.”

Mayor Donald Burden, who is travelling internationally, expressed his deep shock and sadness upon being informed of Allan's passing.

Service arrangements are:

.       Tuesday, April 26 - Viewing at Atlantic Highlands Methodist Church, 96 Third Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 3 to 5pm and 7 to 9pm.

.       Wednesday, April 27, 10:30am  - Funeral at Atlantic Highlands Methodist Church followed by procession and burial at Bayview Cemetery, Leonardo, NJ