Grosse Pointe Park Promotes 4 Officers

More than 100 people filled the  Wednesday to watch four public safety officers receive promotions as part of its realignment in the wake of retirements of several senior officers.

Each of the officers have been with the department for a number of years.

Detective David Loch was promoted to Captain, which is a new position within the department. He will have split duties. Part of his job is administration, acting as the second in command in the absence of Director David Hiller. The other portion of his job will be heading up the detective bureau, which he has been doing since Lt. Jim Smith retired earlier this year. 

Loch has been with the department since February 1986 and was promoted to detective in 2002.

Sgt. James Hoshaw was promoted to luietenant. He will oversee road patrol officers. Hoshaw has been with the department since February 1991. He was promoted to sergeant in July 2001.

Hiller said Hoshaw earned himself the top spot the promotions list through testing and oral board interviews.

Officers Colin Connaire and James Bostock were both promoted to sergeant rank. Both formerly worked for Detroit Police Department and have been on the Park's force for eight years, Hiller said.

Connaire and Bostock will oversee road patrols along with Hoshaw.

Hiller presented the wives of each of the officers with a single rose, recognizing their contributions to the work of their husbands. Hiller noted the overnights and weekends when the officers are often working and missing from family functions or day-to-day family routines.

Proud family members gathered the men with other family members, fellow public safety officials and more for photographs after the 20-minute ceremony. Cake was also served.

Among the crowd were many of the department's recently retired: Lt. Jim Smith, Lt. John Schulte, retired Grosse Pointe Shores Public Safety Director Gary Mitchell and others. Several of the departments current officers attended as well.

Hiller said he is "extremely proud" of those who earned the promotions and is glad they will be helping lead the department. He described the four men as the future of the department, which looks bright, he said.

All of the officers have numerous commendations and recognitions for their work with the department, Hiller said, noting they have too many to list. Loch's personnel file, for example is several inches thick, Hiller said, holding his hands to show the depth. It's filled with awards and commendations, he said. 

Meanwhile, Lt. John Sauber is retiring this week. He has been with the department for 29 years and 10 months, Hiller said. Sauber has been a uniformed road patrol officer throughout his career in the Park. 

The department has 37 officers including Hiller and 23 of those sought promotions during this unusually large round. Hiller said it's been seven to eight years since any promotions have happened within the department simply because there were no vacancies. 

The retirements that happened this year were by officers who had been the department for decades like Sauber and happened naturally, Hiller said, noting some of the considerations relate to their contract and changes that were agreed to in the contract. 

Hiller now has a list of officers he will draw from for promotions going foward based on the test performance and the oral board interviews completed for the large round of promotions completed Wednesday. The list will be good for two years and then after that, when a position arises, the testing and interview process will be conducted again, Hiller said. 

The department is to ensure road patrols stay the same. 

Among the changes, the department used to have two stand-by officers who worked out of the station during their shift. The has been reduced to one so that the other officer can be on road patrol to keep the number of officers actively milling the streets at the same number, which is generally six. 

Part of Hiller's presentation Wednesday included a comment about leadership skills and how each of the four men promoted earned their new rank. 

"There are those who say people are born leaders. I disagree. You become a leader when your dedication, commitment and your loyalty to the organization replaces your personal needs. You become a leader when those who work with you trust you, believe in you and follow you."

Correction: Due to misinformation provided to Patch, the spelling of one of the officer's names was corrected at 11:18 p.m. Wednesday Dec. 28, 2011.