Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that Acting Deputy Chief Quovella M. Spruill will be sworn-in tomorrow as Deputy Chief of Detectives in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office during a 10 a.m. ceremony on the 14th Floor of the Leroy Smith Building, 60 West Market Street, Newark.
Acting Deputy Chief Spruill, who grew up in Newark and attended school here, will become the first African American woman to hold such a high ranking position in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. The deputy chief is the second highest ranking officer under the Chief of Detectives.
Acting Deputy Chief Spruill attended Saint Vincent Academy. She received her bachelor’s degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology and her master’s degree from Seton Hall University.
Following graduation from NJIT in 1994, Deputy Chief Spruill began working full-time in the City of Newark’s Engineering Department. Shortly thereafter, she was promoted to manager of the City Parks and Grounds Department.
In 1998, Deputy Chief Spruill joined the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office as a county investigator. During her tenure in the Prosecutor’s Office, she has served in a number of units, including Pre-Screening, Juvenile Trial Unit, Homicide Unit, Special Victims Unit and Professional Standards Bureau/Corruption/Bias Unit.
Having distinguished herself in all her assignments, in 2008, she was promoted to Lieutenant, responsible for supervising investigations in the Professional Standards Bureau/Corruption/Bias Unit. She was subsequently promoted to Captain and served as the Commander of the Support Bureau and then returned to oversee the Professional Standards Bureau/Corruption/Bias Unit.
In 2012, she was promoted to Acting Deputy Chief and her responsibilities expanded to include the Special Investigations Divisions along with the Professional Standards Bureau/Corruption/Bias Unit. She is married and the mother of two children, ages seven and nine.
“Deputy Chief Spruill is a tremendous asset to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. With each new assignment, she has demonstrated her extraordinary leadership abilities and her seemingly inexhaustible energy,’’ said Acting Prosecutor Murray.
