TEANECK, N.J. — Teaneck is preparing for a changing of the guard at police headquarters, with Deputy Chief Seth B. Kriegel set to replace Chief Andrew R. McGurr when the longtime chief retires Sept. 1.

The township is billing it as a seamless transition. But for Kriegel, the promotion comes with some baggage, particularly among residents who have been pressing the department over its handling of antisemitic harassment and other incidents involving the Jewish community.

McGurr, who is retiring after more than 33 years with the Teaneck Police Department, is being sent off with glowing reviews from Mayor Mark Schwartz and Township Manager Jaclyn Hashmat.

Hashmat described Kriegel as a reflection of McGurr's commitment to developing the department's next generation of leaders, saying he has been extensively prepared for the job.

Kriegel's own township biography emphasizes that he has more than two decades in law enforcement, oversees the department's day-to-day operations and served as officer in charge when the chief was absent. It also notes his previous command of the Investigations Division and his work overseeing bias-related investigations.

That last point is likely to draw scrutiny.

Kriegel has been the public face of the department on several bias incidents, including the March assault and gel-gun shooting of a Jewish teenager outside B'nai Yeshurun after the teen was reportedly asked whether he supported Israel or Palestine while walking home from shul. Police charged the alleged juvenile shooter with bias intimidation.

But behind the scenes, some community insiders say Kriegel's approach to antisemitism complaints has been considerably less reassuring.

Earlier this year, while McGurr was out on medical leave, Kriegel met with leadership of Bergen County Shomrim. People familiar with the meeting say Kriegel insisted that complaints of antisemitic harassment be reported directly to Teaneck police and pushed back on Shomrim conducting its own supplementary investigative work, including canvassing for surveillance video and submitting collected evidence, like camera footage, to police investigators.

More troubling, according to those familiar with the meeting, Kriegel would not commit that Teaneck police would investigate every bias complaint. The department, he said, would determine whether an investigation was warranted.

That left Shomrim leaders scratching their heads. If police could decide not to investigate, why prevent a community organization from helping gather evidence for the police department?

Kriegel also made clear that he did not want Shomrim taking complaints over his department's head to the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office or New Jersey Attorney General's Office, according to people familiar with the meeting.

Shomrim wasn't looking to replace the police. It wanted to make sure complaints didn't disappear into a bureaucratic black hole. According to insiders it ultimately took a different approach: report complaints immediately to TPD, simultaneously conduct its own complementary fact-finding and provide whatever information it uncovered to police and if need be county or state investigators.

Meanwhile, Kriegel has publicly urged residents to report bias incidents and emphasized that the inability to file criminal charges does not mean police are doing nothing.

The question now is whether that message will translate into action.

With Kriegel about to take command, Teaneck's Jewish community should be watching closely.