Grosse Pointe Farms officers ascend the ranks

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Two decorated members of the Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Department have new titles.

Officer Veronica Cashion is now a sergeant, while Sgt. Frank Zielinski is now a lieutenant.

Their promotions were acknowledged publicly during an April 8 Grosse Pointe Farms City Council meeting.

Mayor Louis Theros said the promotions represented “the top item of the day” in terms of city business.

Public Safety Director John Hutchins said the promotion process “is very challenging” and requires months of study prior to a written exam. Those who pass the written exam are interviewed by a panel of department chiefs outside of the Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods, who ask the candidates about legal issues, hypothetical scenarios and more.

“If this phase of the process is passed, the officer receives promotional rankings from each supervisor within our department, and the scores from all three phases comprise a final score,” Hutchins explained.

Prior to becoming a member of the Farms Public Safety Department in 2000, Hutchins said, Zielinski worked for the Hamtramck Police Department and the Wayne County Jail.

Hutchins said Zielinski has had many responsibilities within the department, including serving as a field training officer and field training officer supervisor, vehicle maintenance officer, bike officer and commander of the Special Response Team, or SRT, which is like a SWAT team and includes officers from the other Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods. He was won numerous awards during his career. He was promoted to sergeant in 2019.

Zielinski’s wife, Rita, pinned on his lieutenant badge.

Cashion joined the Farms Public Safety Department in 2012, after previously working for the Detroit and Harper Woods police departments. Hutchins said she was honored with a community service award for her Shop with a Cop program, which raised money for families in need and paired public safety officers with families to shop for Christmas gifts for them.

Cashion was on her way to a stellar career when she was badly hurt after a truck struck her as she was exiting her gym in 2017.

“She suffered debilitating injuries which required shoulder surgery, staples in her head and extensive damage to her neck, spine and pelvis,” Hutchins said. “The extent of her injuries prevented her from returning to work and she was forced to leave in 2018.”

Cashion didn’t let those injuries stop her, though. She returned to the department in 2019 as a part-time emergency dispatcher while she continued to work on her rehabilitation. With hard work, determination and support from her husband, Jim Cashion, a Detroit Police Department lieutenant, she defied the doctors who said she’d never be a police officer again and was rehired by the Farms in 2021. She also became a field training officer for the department.

“We recognize Veronica’s promotion to the rank of public safety sergeant this evening, as well as being one of the best comeback stories we have seen in our profession,” Hutchins said.

Her husband pinned her new badge to her uniform.