Former Trenton Police Chief Frank Mercier Brady passed away peacefully at his home in Lambertville, NJ on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. He was 89. Chief Brady had served as a member of the Trenton Police Department for 42 years.

Chief Brady joined the police department on January 1, 1951, and was a motorcycle Patrolman in the traffic division. In 1958 he was promoted to Sergeant in the Detective Bureau and in 1967 to Lieutenant where he served as Detective Lieutenant in the Community Relations and Intelligence Unit. He was promoted to Police Chief in 1990 and retired in 1992.

Known as “Mercer” to his boyhood friends and “Chief” to everybody else, he was born and raised in Trenton where he lived his entire life until moving to Lambertville in 2007. He was a graduate of Trenton Boys' Catholic High School and served in the United States Navy from 1945 until 1949. While in his twenties, Chief was a semi-professional boxer before joining the police force. He retained many friendships from his boxing days and continued to carry the lessons that he learned in the ring throughout his life. Long known for his confrontational style and tough decision making, he rose through the ranks of the police department and was an integral part of the community policing model of the 1960’s and 70’s that he helped to define.

Chief Brady was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council #355, the PBA #11 Trenton Police Officers’ Association, St. Anthony’s Church Holy Name Society, the Trenton Police Athletic League and the Trenton Superior Officers’ Association.

He was a loving husband to his wife of 44 years, Yole Amoroso Brady, who predeceased him. He is survived by his children Lisa Brady of Yonkers, NY, Nicholas Brady and his wife, Jennifer, of Lambertville and John Carlton Brady of Lambertville, his grandson Patrick C. Brady of Seattle, WA; his sister Joan Carlin of Ewing, his brother-in-law Carl Amoroso of Hamilton and several nieces and nephews.

The funeral mass will be offered on Monday, March 20, 2017 at 11 am at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 1 Riverstone Circle, New Hope, PA 18938. Interment will follow at St Mary’s Cemetery, 1200 Cedar Lane, Trenton, NJ 08610.

Calling hours at the Van Horn-McDonough Funeral Home, 21 York Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530 (vhmfh.com) on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 pm and on Monday morning from 9 am until departure for church.

Memorial donations in Chief Brady’s honor may be made to the Animal Alliance of New Jersey, PO Box 1285, Belle Mead, NJ 08502 (animalalliancenj.org); Anchor House, 482 Centre St., Trenton, NJ 08611 (anchorhousenj.org); and Trenton Police Athletic League, PO Box 4193, Trenton, NJ 08610 (trentonpal.org).

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