Saline Hires Lindman as Interim Police Chief

He won’t be armed and he won’t have the power to arrest criminals, but Mike Lindman will be interim chief of the .

Lindman, who retired as deputy police chief from the Garden City Police Department in 2006 after a 26-year career, begins work in Saline on Jan. 3.

At Monday’s meeting, voted 6-1 to appoint Lindman to the post. He’ll take over for longtime chief , and manage the department while the city begins its search for a permanent chief.

Mayor Gretchen Driskell and City Manager Todd Campbell recommended the hiring of Lindman after interviewing three candidates Dec. 9. The other candidates were Rachel Sadowski-Spiegel, former police chief of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and Jim Ridener, who retired as chief of the Westland Police Department.

“We want someone who our department can lean on as a leader and who knows how to deal with issues and can provide good advice. We feel Mike is the right person to do that,” said Campbell.

While retired, Lindman’s state law enforcement certification through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards expired. Without the certification, Lindman cannot carry a gun, enforce laws, make arrests or announce himself as a police officer. It was an issue for councillor Jim Peters, who was the lone council member to vote against the recommendation to hire Lindman as interim chief.

“We’re losing our chief. We’ve lost our second in command. That’s like 17 percent of our force," Peters said.

Campbell said he didn’t think the lack of certification would affect Lindman’s ability to carry out his duties.

“If you take an exaggerated example, say a barricaded gunman incident in Saline. Mike would still be there, giving direction. He wouldn’t be able to take a shot or arrest the guy, but he’d be there calling the shots in the heat of the battle,” Campbell said. “For a permanent chief, I think we would require certification. For the interim position, I don’t believe lack of certification should be a hindrance.”

Campbell noted that Dearborn had a civilian police chief for more than a decade.

There was some talk of having Lindman be recertified.

Councillor Brian Marl said he believed it was unnecessary.

“This gentlemen has a sterling reputation and I believe he will do an outstanding job leading the department. At this point, I am not in favor of paying for certification. It’s not has if he is a novice. He has 30 years of professional experience,” Marl said. “I can’t imagine an incident in the next six to eight months in which he would need to use a firearm or make an arrest. It’s not a function of the chief’s position.”

Lindman began his career in Garden city as a patrol officer. He was promoted to crime prevention officer, detective sergeant, patrol lieutenant and investigative lieutenant before becoming deputy chief. He has an associate’s degree from Schoolcraft College, a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University, and a master’s degree from the University of Detroit.

Since retiring, Lindman has worked part time as baseball and football coach at South Lyon East High School.

He said he was excited to begin work in Saline.

“When I heard about the opening I was excited about it because I know it’s a really nice community. I talked to friends about it and they said it was a great community,” Lindman said. “I’m sure I am going to be meeting a lot of new people and learning a lot about the city in the next few weeks here.”

Lindman will be paid at the current starting pay for the chief of police position, which is a salary of $80,289. He will have a dedicated vehicle he can use on the job, but the vehicle is not available to take home on a daily basis.

He is expected to serve as interim chief for approximately six months while the city chooses a permanent chief.