Officer from Oakland County police department starts work in the Farms

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — An experienced police officer has joined the Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Department.

After six and a half years with the Lathrup Village Police Department, Amanda McNeill, 32, is now donning a new uniform. She was sworn into office as a Farms public safety officer July 8 by Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Derrick Kozicki, as her parents, mother-in-law and husband, Mike McNeill, looked on. July 8 was also her first day on the job.

McNeill said she applied for a position with the Farms because a friend of hers was already working there and she was drawn to the department’s atmosphere, as well as the chance for more advancement and other opportunities. She said she was “extremely happy” when she learned the Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Department had chosen her.

“I knew it was a place I could land and retire and have a close-knit family (environment),” McNeill said.

McNeill holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a specialization in homeland security from Oakland University.

No one in her family is in law enforcement, but McNeill was attracted to the field because she felt she could make a positive difference.

“I just wanted to help people, and I thought this was the best route,” McNeill said.

McNeill and her husband live in Madison Heights with their three cats. She grew up in Clinton Township.

Farms Deputy Public Safety Director Andrew Rogers feels McNeill will be a good addition to the department.

“She has a lot of police experience,” Rogers said. “She’s the right fit for the Grosse Pointe community.”

He said the Farms was impressed by the community service and other outreach McNeill did in Lathrup Village.

“She did a lot more than just her job,” Rogers said. “She’s very community oriented.”

McNeill will enter the fire academy in September. Rogers said that program takes about 10 weeks. He said she is starting her police training to learn Farms protocols immediately.