Catholic lawman declares ‘miracles are all around’

Whether confronted by a suspected drug dealer, a suicidal man on a roof, or his own health challenges, South Brunswick Police Deputy Chief James Ryan responded to the crises with faith. He asserted, “Prayers work. We need to listen to God’s word, and we need to have faith as our bedrock.”

The law enforcement professional and member of the Catholic Charities Solidarity Team enthralled his audience with stories from his more than 30 years of public service during two presentations at St. Cecilia Parish, Monmouth Junction, March 11 and 12. With each story he retold, Ryan shared how his faith served as guide, for, he explained, “Miracles happen every day all around us.”

Ryan is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the N.J. State Association of Chiefs of Police Command and Leadership; served as departmental public information officer; created the N.J. Cop Shot reward program and is the recipient of the N.J. State PBA Outstanding Officer Award. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Kean University and a master’s degree in criminal justice and police science from New Jersey City University, and is an adjunct professor at Middlesex County College. He has been a guest lecturer at Fordham and Seton Hall Law Schools, and at the Rutgers University School of Communication.

Ryan’s faith-based endeavors include serving as trustee for Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen Board; a disaster recovery coordinator for the CCDOM Superstorm Sandy response, and as a member of their Solidarity Team. Though faith-filled and trusting in God’s providence, he was initially hesitant to share examples of the Lord’s loving care.

“God talks to each and every one of us every day, but, like Jonah, I thought, ‘who would listen to me? I’m just Jim from Jersey,” Ryan recalled. “I kept putting it off.” This past November, the married father of four suffered a heart attack while a patient in the ICU of a Philadelphia hospital. 

During his recovery, Ryan said, “people were praying for me and those prayers were working.” The power of prayer convinced him to share incidents from his past as examples of God’s love and presence in time of need. “The Lord was repeatedly telling me to tell these stories,” he said. “Our time is limited, is not guaranteed, and I have to move forward. I have to tell these stories.” 

An incident from his early years as a police officer saw him encountering a car that had left the road and been mangled in the trees. The driver, a young man named Tom, was trapped in the vehicle when Ryan arrived first on the scene.

“Tom asked me to tell his wife that he loved her,” Ryan said. “I told him to do that.” The young man made it through surgery and recovered, leaving the hospital 10 days later. Ryan admitted, “In the moment of truth, my faith collapsed, but prayers work.”

God’s lesson to Ryan about the importance of humility manifested itself during a confrontation at a suspected drug house. After a six-week investigation, the house seemingly was empty of illegal activity and, Ryan confessed, “My ego was really big.” But during a follow-up visit, the lawman found out he was wrong.

“I went to the door and there was a guy with the biggest gun I had ever seen who wouldn’t put it down. I thought, ‘God, where are you? How am I here?’” Ryan said. The gunman finally followed the police’s demand to lower his weapon; the police later learned the man was deaf and thought he was defending his neighbor from intruders. 

“In that moment, in those times, everything could have been different,” Ryan said. “God was saying, ‘I am here all the time. Keep praying, keep humble.’”

During his time as a crisis negotiator, Ryan was called to the scene of a man in a tree two stories from the ground threatening to jump. A bucket truck arrived at the scene, and Ryan was lifted to speak with the distraught man. 

“I said, ‘Holy Spirit, give me the words to say,” Ryan recalled. “I thought of the time when Simon Peter was fishing all night and caught nothing, but Christ said to drop his net somewhere else. I asked the man if he wanted to get in the bucket truck with me and go down to discuss things; he said ‘Okay’ and got in. God has a plan and we have to trust him.”

Ryan concluded with the desire that his audience’s Lenten journey strengthen faith and prayers do work. “Faith is a gift God gave us. This world is crazy, but faith in Jesus has not changed,” he said. “I hope by sharing the miracles I have seen that you see them on a daily basis.”