The
Negaunee Police Department has been home to many fine
officers since its inception over 100 years ago.
Here we give tribute to those officers and staff members
who have retired or moved on from our department.
We thank them for their years of service to our community.
DUE
TO THE FACT SOME RECORDS HAVE DETERIORATED AND OTHERS
HAVE BEEN LOST OVER TIME, WE MAY HAVE INADVERTANTLY
LEFT OFF SOME FORMER MEMBERS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
IF YOU ARE AWARE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT BEEN RECOGNIZED
HERE, PLEASE LET US KNOW. CALL (906)475-4154 OR
SEND US AN EMAIL AT: FORMER
NPD STAFF MEMBERS
Retirees & Former Staff Since the Turn
of the Century
An
officer of the United States Marine Corps and Vietnam
combat veteran, Dennis Gruner became a patrol officer
with the Negaunee Police Department in 1978. By
1988 he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant, the
rank he would retire with in 2000 after 22 years of
service. Over the years he handled many tasks
in addition to his policing duties including property
management and a variety of computer related matters.
Dennis and his wife, Pat, have traveled extensively
since his retirement in November of 2000 and we look
forward to their visits when they return periodically
to the Negaunee area.
In
1978 Norman Foster became a member of the Negaunee Police
Department following his honorable discharge from the
United States Air Force and employment with the Forsyth
Township Police Department. In 1990 he was promoted
to the rank of Detective/Sergeant and for the next 14
years conducted many in-depth investigations involving
check fraud, embezzlement, vehicle theft, arson and
breaking & entering. After his retirement
in 2002 he continued to serve law enforcement as a dispatcher
with Michigan State Police Regional Dispatch.
Norman remains a part of the Negaunee Police Department
family and is missed by his colleagues.
Paul
Waters joined the Negaunee Police Department in 1978.
In 1985 he was promoted to Detective/Sergeant.
He was named Chief of Police In 1989 and served as Chief
for 15 years before retiring on 08/31/2004.
After
a storied career spanning from 03/12/1977 to 12/31/2007,
Michael R. Van Straten has retired from the Negaunee
Police Department. Throughout the years he saw
many changes and helped to shape the Negaunee of today.
With his departure, our department has lost a dedicated
civil servant with a strong work ethic who leaves behind
very large shoes to fill. During his time with
our department, Michael handled all types of cases,
small and large, with equal diligence and he has without
a doubt left his mark on our community. Our loss,
however, is Marquette County's gain as he begins a post-retirement
career as a deputy. Michael and his family continue
to reside in the City of Negaunee, the community he
served so well for nearly 31 years.
Ralph
Reuben Carlson was a lifelong resident of the City of
Negaunee. He joined the department in 1956 after
having served in the United States Navy during the Korean
War (1951-1955) and working for a short time at Cleveland
Cliffs Iron Company. He became the Chief of Police
in 1963, a position he held until he retired in 1973.
Ralph was also a volunteer for the Negaunee Fire Department
from 1969-1979, and was a member of several organizations
including the V.A. Romo Post #3165 V.F.W., the Teal
Lake Masonic Lodge, the Royal Arch Masons, the Scottish
Rite, and the Negaunee Male Chorus. He was a member
of the Mitchell Methodist Church and was an avid outdoorsman
who enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time at camp.
Former
Chief Carlson died peacefully in his sleep on 05/02/2009
at the age of 77. He will be greatly missed by
the community he served in so many different capacities
and we are thankful for having had him as a member of
our department.
Theodore
Raymond gave 10 years of service to the department and
was best known for his work in the D.A.R.E. program
and as the School Liaison Officer. He worked closely
with the schools to teach the children and young adults
of Negaunee about the dangers of drugs and alcohol,
and helped many young people as a friend, confidante
and advisor. After leaving the department, he
continued his career in public safety as a part of the
Transportation Safety Administration at Sawyer International
Airport, and later took a position with the Michigan
Liquor Control Commission.
Joseph
Brogan came to our department from the L'anse area in
the summer of 2002. Although he was with the department
for only eight months, he served the community well
with professionalism and integrity. He continues
to work for law enforcement in the Baraga County area.
For
just over 6 years Steven Taylor worked for the Negaunee
Police Department in many capacities. He started
out as a Patrol Officer in 1998, and in December of
2000 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, assuming
responsibility for investigations including fraud, burglary
and sexual misconduct. He was also the department
firearms instructor, property/evidence officer and deputy
medical examiner. His career with the Negaunee
Police Department came to a close on 10/19/2004 upon
his acceptance of a position with the Searcy
Police Department in Searcy, Arkansas. This
well-liked officer with a unique and sometimes comical
view of the world will be missed by his NPD family,
and we wish him well at his new department.
Christopher
Aldrich gave 5 exceptional years of service to the City
of Negaunee. During his time at NPD, he was consistently
in the top tier productively, particularly in making
arrests on outstanding warrants held by our and other
law enforcement agencies across Marquette County.
Always eager to better himself as an officer,
he completed training in computer forensics which brought
new technology and investigative knowledge to Negaunee.
Although we would have liked this extraordinary officer
to remain a part of our department, in May of 2008 he
accepted a position with the Marquette City Police.
We wish Christopher well and know he will continue to
flourish wherever he may go in the course of his career.
During
his years with the Negaunee Police Department, former
Marine James Hafeman worked with the schools as both
a D.A.R.E. officer and the school liaison officer.
He received several awards during his career including
Marquette County Officer of the Year (1989), the Negaunee
Irontown Association's Citizen of the Year award in
1990 and the 1991 Marquette Jaycees Exemplary Performance
in Community Service award. He was also the Crime
Prevention officer before taking an educational leave
of absence, and eventually resigning from the department
in April 1993 to pursue his Masters degree in Public
Administration. James currently works as a quality
control manager for armed security services, and he
and his wife Gretchen still reside in Negaunee Township.
DENNIS
W. GRUNER: 1978 - 2000
NORMAN
E. FOSTER: 1978 - 2002
PAUL R. WATERS: 1978 - 2004
Retired
Senior Patrol Officer 
RALPH
R. CARLSON: 1956 - 1973
THEODORE
L. RAYMOND: 1992 - 2002
JOSEPH
R. BROGAN: 2002 - 2003
STEVEN L. TAYLOR: 1998 - 2004
Patrol
Officer 
Patrol
Officer