Grosse Pointe Farms business leader honored for support of city’s K-9 program

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — When residents see Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety officer Richard Rosati on the beat with his K-9, Rocco, they have a longtime community business leader to thank.

Developer and business leader Edward “Ed” Russell, whose offices are on the Hill, was acknowledged for his pivotal role in continuing the Farms’ K-9 program following the retirement of K-9 Duke last year — Duke’s handler, Tim Harris, is now a sergeant. Russell was honored with a Public Safety Department Community Service Award during an April 10 Farms City Council meeting.

“One of my favorite parts of this job is recognizing citizens who have contributed to law enforcement in many ways,” Mayor Louis Theros said. “We’re going to commend Ed Russell for his great contributions.”

Russell said the late Gretchen Carhartt Valade — who funded Duke, the city’s first K-9, about a decade ago — inspired him to take up the K-9 cause and enlist support from like-minded residents. Like Valade, Russell is a Farms resident.

“There were a number of esteemed residents who stepped up and wrote the checks,” Russell said.

Public Safety Director John Hutchins said Russell — a lifelong resident of the Pointes — set up the Grosse Pointe K-9 Fund through The War Memorial to accept donations for the current K-9 program and future K-9 programs.

“His pursuit of the betterment of all things as a family man, businessman and trustee of countless organizations, including children’s charities, hospitals, financial institutions and community programs, reflects a quality best summarized in one short sentence: Ed gets things done,” Hutchins said.

Hutchins said Russell’s “tireless efforts” had secured $250,000 in donation commitments to the K-9 fund at press time. Russell was happy to announce that he had gotten a check for another $50,000 April 10, bringing the Grosse Pointe K-9 Fund more than halfway to its five-year funding goal.

Besides his work for the K-9 program, Hutchins said Russell stepped forward to oversee improvements to the city’s firehall dormitory, handling this work at the end of 2022 on a limited budget and tight timeline.

“His team quickly remodeled the fire division living quarters, making upgrades and enhancements to better accommodate personnel,” Hutchins said. “The project was welcomed and appreciated by our 24-hour fire staff, as (it was) the first upgrade to their living quarters in over 60 years.”

While the Farms has a public safety department, it also has several fire specialists who work 24-hour shifts and are responsible for firefighting, maintenance of fire equipment and other responsibilities.

“I’m very honored from the standpoint of being able to contribute and get friends and other community leaders to help initiatives the city has put forth,” Russell said.

Russell said he was “honored to be a part” of the K-9 program and other efforts to help the Public Safety Department.