King retires from position as chief of police

FARMINGTON HILLS — Farmington Hills Mayor Pro Tem Bill Dwyer recently reflected on hiring Jeff King as a police cadet in 1995.

At that time, Dwyer was the chief of police for the Farmington Hills Police Department, prior to accepting a position with the city of Warren.

Little did Dwyer know at that time that years later King would rise through the ranks of the Farmington Hills Police Department and one day become its chief.

King served as the city’s police chief for approximately five years before recently leaving to accept a role as the director of public safety for Bloomfield Hills.

King’s last official day with the Farmington Hills Police Department was Dec. 16. At a Farmington Hills City Council meeting Dec. 9, the city presented a proclamation that recognized King’s retirement and “years of dedicated service to the City.”

Dwyer read the proclamation. Prior to that, he shared some words about King.

“This is really big for me because I hired the chief,” Dwyer said. “He impressed me so much. I never envisioned that I would be here as a City Council person and he would be here as police chief, and I would be here to do a proclamation from the City Council on your retirement. That’s the way things work out.”

When it was his turn to speak at the City Council meeting, King also acknowledged Dwyer.

“So many things that I look to in my career today is because of that man right there (Dwyer) and his leadership that he brought to this Police Department,” King said. “He brought the level of professionalism that myself and my officers and all the command staff enjoy today.”

In an interview with the Press, Farmington Hills City Manager Gary Mekjian said that it was a pleasure to have King as the city’s police chief.

According to Mekjian, under King’s leadership, there was a lot of “transformation.” He cited Kings’ efforts to have fair and impartial policing, as well as public outreach.

Last year, the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards also recognized the Farmington Hills Police Department as the first law enforcement agency in the state to provide mental health training to all its officers, cadets and dispatchers.

“Police departments were spending additional funding to hire a social worker or a psychologist to respond to on-scene issues with folks having mental crises. Farmington Hills took a different tack,” Mekjian said. “Rather than hiring an individual that maybe wasn’t a sworn police officer, we thought it was a better strategy to actually train all of our police officers to the highest level of mental health crisis response. We believe that’s been a huge benefit for our community.”

Aside from those accomplishments, Mekjian also discussed something else that King was a part of during his tenure.

“(We) became one of the first departments in the state of Michigan to have multiple reaccreditations for their professional association, the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission,” Mekjian said. “That was a huge lift by Jeff and his staff.”

At the City Council meeting, King was also recognized for spearheading the decision to equip officers with body cameras.

During City Council comments, Michael Bridges focused on one of the influences King had on the Farmington Hills Police Department.

“You always had a priority regarding training in your department, and that’s evident regarding what we do in our city,” Bridges said. “Thank you for your service. I know (the) Bloomfield Police Department’s getting a person that listens (and) has a high priority on training.”

City Councilman Randy Bruce congratulated King on his career and said that he could “go on for hours” about his accomplishments.

“You’ve been such a leader in this community,” Bruce said. “You are leaving this place better. Thank you for all your efforts.”

City Councilwoman Valerie Knol credited King for the “fine job” he has done in the area of recruiting.

“You have been a mentor to the men and women in your department, and your focus on development and training them, I think that is so important for Farmington Hills, for all the residents out there. They know they have such a professional department. That’s because of you and your leadership,” Knol said.

The proclamation that was read for King and the accomplishments that were cited as part of it got the attention of City Councilwoman Jackie Boleware. However, that was not the primary focus of her comments.

“The proclamation talked about exemplary service, distinguished career, your achievements, mentorship to fellow officers and the legacy you’ll be leaving the city, but to me it’s the friendship,” Boleware said. “You were always very respectful. It’s part of your professionalism that you display every day, your compassion, and your understanding of the community. It’s all of those things that make you the person that you are and the person I have come to view as a good friend.”

After Councilman Jon Aldred acknowledged the Citizens Police Academy, which is offered by the Farmington Hills Police Department, as well as the professionalism of the officers, Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich shared that “many firsts” happened under King’s leadership in a diverse city that she said is the second largest in Oakland County.

“And yet you work to bring us together and police without prejudice or partiality,” Rich said. “The legacy you’ve left is great. You cast a very, very long shadow, sir. We will miss you.”

The city announced via a press release that John Piggott, who was serving as the assistant chief of police, was named as the interim police chief upon King’s retirement.

According to the release, the city intends to select its new police chief by this spring.

“The person that is selected will continue with the efforts of Chief King and the vision and the strategic plan that he brought forward for openness and transparency and integrity in policing,” Mekjian said. “Those are all very important for our public to know. We’re hiring the best person for the position based on the criteria that we’re looking for.”