A familiar face with the Michigan State Police in Northern Michigan is about to turn in his badge, retiring after decades on the job.
Lt. Derrick Carroll has been with MSP for close to 30 years.
He held various roles in different parts of the state, starting his career in Alpena, then working in Detroit and Grand Rapids, before landing back here in Northern Michigan.
Carroll has held a number of roles-including patrol, to the state police gaming unit and helped start the computer crimes unit, working in Petoskey before they merged with the Gaylord Post, and then working at the Gaylord Post. He’s also had experience as a Post Commander and a Detective Sergeant.
Lt. Derrick Carroll said law enforcement is in his blood. His father was a police officer in Illinois.
“From the time I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a police officer,” said Carroll.
He said he still recalls his first day on patrol as a trooper in Alpena.
“I was feeling so happy, proud, nervous. And I’m driving and the light turned red, and I wasn’t paying attention. I went right through the red light and I’m like, ‘oh my God. So, I hit the lights and sirens like I was going on a call, went down the road and shortly thereafter turned them off,” said Carroll.
Carroll has come a long way since then, rising through the ranks. Working in the gaming unit when gambling first was legalized in Michigan.
He helped start up the computer crimes unit, was a detective sergeant and a post commander, before ending his career as a public information officer in Gaylord, covering 19 Northern Michigan counties in the 7th district of Northern Michigan.
“The most exciting one was the Computer Crimes Unit. It was so new, and we were actually setting the benchmark for the unit, what we’re going to do. And there was so much to learn,” said Carroll.
Carroll said some of his favorite times on the job include helping with the Mackinac Bridge Walk.
“Everybody’s happy to see it. When people come up to you, they want to shake your hand. So that’s probably one of my favorite events that goes on here every year,” said Carroll.
He said the hardest part of the job was always the heavy stuff.
“The death notifications. Nobody wants to be that trooper knocking at a door at 2:00 in the morning to tell somebody, ‘Hey, your loved one passed away in a crash or a tragic accident or whatever might have happened,” said Carroll.
He said another favorite memory that sticks out is the time he got to work detail for a wreath laying ceremony for the one-year anniversary of the death of President Gerald Ford in Grand Rapids.
“A Secret Service agent approached me, and he’s like, ‘trooper, Vice President Cheney saw you out here. Would you like to come in and meet him? So, we went there and got my picture taken with, Dick Cheney shaking his hand,” said Carroll.
Carroll said he’s ready to hang up the blue, but he will miss the people he works with. He said he plans to be a school bus driver after he retires. It’s something he’s already started doing.
