TRAVERSE CITY — History was made at the Cherry Capitol Airport this afternoon as they swore in the very first Chief of Police.
Chief Joe FitzGerald, the first ever chief of police, was sworn in during a regularly scheduled NRAA meeting at 3pm Tuesday afternoon.
Chief Fitzgerald was appointed earlier this year, and brings decades of law enforcement with him.
Chief Joe FitzGerald tells us “I’ve been a chief of police at other departments. So I’ve had a lot of experience, a lot of training, worked with a lot of great administrations, administrators, throughout my career, a lot of good officers. So I’ve had a lot of experience, you know, with different departments. So that’s helped me to be where i am today.“
Because of his experience, Cherry Capital Airport CEO Kevin Klein says this is a very exciting moment for them.
CEO of Cherry Capitol Airport Kevin Klein says “His ability to resolve conflicts, his ability to work with the community and engage and really his ability to deescalate any type of situation. And so thats the trait that we really look for. His great leader ship you know has been noted with his resume. So you know he made it a perfect fit.”
The need for a chief of police comes from then newly established Cherry Capital Airport Police Department, something that was now necessary for the airport due to their size, according to the Federal Aviation Administration,
So far, Chief FitzGerald has focused on staffing, equipping, and implementing the administrative framework required by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards.