News

May 06, 2023

Our View: Honoring those in blue

By GPN Staff | on May 17, 2023

By GPN Staff | on May 17, 2023

While Sunday marked the beginning of National Police Week, we in the Pointes prefer to celebrate, support and thank our public safety officers on a much more consistent basis.

Here are just a few examples.

As we reported in last week's Grosse Pointe News, the newly formed Grosse Pointe Public Safety Foundation aims to support unfunded needs of the public safety departments in all five Pointes and Harper Woods. Its mission statement is, "to enhance the capabilities of the public safety departments … by ensuring the provision of first-class, cutting-edge law enforcement and security technology; and to provide training on security technology with the goal of providing the highest standard of public safety achievable …"

The GPPSF already has committed to a $235,000 grant to purchase and install two cell phone repeaters at Grosse Pointe South High School. According to Dan Jensen, the foundation's executive director and former public safety director in the Farms, thick walls and a slate roof at South render cell phones and police radios virtually useless indoors.

The Grosse Pointe Public School System received a grant from the state to help fund a resource officer in cooperation with the Woods at Grosse Pointe North High School and is hoping to find money to partner with the Farms for an officer at South. That's on top of $5.8 million in security upgrades the district has made in recent years, working with a security consulting firm made up of former law enforcement officers, using bond money voters approved in 2018.

In April, members of the Knights of Columbus at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church dropped off pizzas, soda and water to the Farms public safety department and said they intend to do the same every few months throughout the year in our other communities.

Our team of staff writers over the past few months have written stories about the myriad awards presented by each department to officers to recognize their bravery, heroism and quick thinking during the previous year.

Several of those officers were honored by the Lakeshore Optimist Club earlier this month.

We also love printing stories when a long-time veteran retires from a department or a new hire is sworn in.

The Grosse Pointe Park Foundation paid to refurbish the public safety department gym there with new equipment and has paid for new ballistic shields, sidearms and holsters. The separate Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Foundation bought PSOs new bullet-proof vests.

Also in the Park, several residents take turns delivering food on the Christmas and New Year's holidays to officers who are away from their families.

In the Farms, numerous residents, including nine who pledged $25,000 each, committed $250,000 to fund not only the purchase of new K-9 officer Rocco, but also pay for continued training, a specialized patrol vehicle, vet bills and overtime hours for the handler.

And it's not just us who support those who vow to protect and serve. They support each other, often responding with mutual aid — often for structure fires — when the need arises.

Such was the case recently when officers from the City pitched in to help arrest squatters in an empty house in the Park while its officers dealt with a vicious attack on an 81-year-old woman.

Kudos as well to our city councils, which do all they can to provide equipment upgrades and training opportunities while stretching budgets to cover all other municipal services.

So, while National Police Week may end Saturday, we’ll spend 52 weeks a year recognizing the valuable service of our public safety officers and those who support them.