It actually was intended to send a message to criminals who were coming into the old manufacturing/warehouse waterfront of Jersey City... certainly seems out of place today. But it is part of the neighborhood history.

I have always thought this statue sends a strange message -- an extremely impersonal and authoritarian-looking officer with his hand on his gun. It reminds me of the police officer statues I saw in remote areas of China which served no other purpose than to reinforce blind fear of authority among people. Is this really the way that Jersey City wants to represent it's police force? -- and is this what should pass for public art and statuary in our city?

Actually according to the late Joe Duffy, the activist from Paulus Hook, there was a statue of a police officer on Montgomery Street but it was removed. He lobbied the city to restore the statue.

What happened to the Police Memorial statue on Montgomery St?
It is supposed to have a patina, and now it looks painted.

This statue came from NY Bayview Cemetery in Greenville.
It was stolen for scrap metal in the early 1960's. Then the city
decided it would be better on Montgomery St.