Garrettsville – The changing of the guard officially took place at midnight on April 24, 2018: Garrettsville Police Chief Tony Milicia entered into retirement after 30 years in law enforcement and Sgt. Tim Christopher became chief of the department. The Villager sat down with both men the next day, Milicia in jeans and Chief Christopher in uniform. A new era had begun.
Essentially, Milicia and Christopher have been working as co-equal partners for the past nine years. Both vied for the chief post in 2009 and Milicia was selected to head the department. “We offset each other,” Milicia explained. “When I became chief I didn’t worry about patrols because I had Tim to handle that while I focused on evidence and administration. It worked well to divide and conquer that way. Now Tim needs to find my ‘him’.”
Christopher and Milicia have worked up the ranks at the Garrettsville PD in nearly parallel timing. Milicia, who had worked previously on both Hiram and Mantua police departments, joined the Garrettsville force as a part-time officer in 1990; Christopher started part-time in 1991. Milicia moved into full-time service in 1992; Christopher in 1994. Both were promoted to Sergeant in 1997. In 1999, Christopher initiated the K-9 unit. Milicia became officer in charge in February 2009 and was named chief in June later that year. At that time, Milicia recommended that Christopher would become chief when he retired.
Together, Milicia and Christopher have tamped down local crime due to their proactive — not reactive — policing approach. They say that village caseloads have held steady over the past three or four years while neighboring communities have seen a rise in crime, mostly due to the opioid crisis. By staying vigilant on patrols surrounding Garrettsville’s nine liquor establishments, traffic patterns and hot spots like Nelson Quarry Park, the department has seen a drop in OVI arrests and a below-average opioid overdose rate. On regular traffic stops, officers are able to also rout out illegal drug possession, outstanding warrants and burglaries, and gather intel about related cases. The K-9 team has bolstered the department’s work in detecting narcotics, tracking suspects and missing persons, and completing building and area searches for discarded weapons and other contraband.
“I have a hands-on rapport with the current staff and we will work well together to succeed.”
Coordinated vigilance is key to remaining proactive, Christopher says. In cooperation with the police department and James A. Garfield School District, Village Council just approved a measure hire a full-time policeman as an armed resource officer for the schools. Considering this modern era of school violence, Christopher said, “We keep reviewing the school safety plans and refining them for a better outcome, should something transpire. Incidents can happen at school, at the cinema, at factories, anywhere. We need to be able to rely on neighboring police departments for support so we’re all one one page and can respond to each other’s crises in coordinated fashion. While we already work at the county level with Emergency Management Assistance response plans, the Police Chiefs Association is also in the process of putting together memorandums of understanding to coordinate our mutual assistance measures.”
Now, in order to maintain the proactive success trends at the Garrettsville Police Department, applications are being accepted to bring the force back to its five full-time officers. Due to to Milicia’s retirement and the resignation/transfer of Matt Noah to the Kent City Police Department, vacancies include the new school officer and two full-time road positions. Part-time and reserve positions also need to be filled.
In addition to Chief Christopher, the current force includes K-9 Handler Keith Whan, Patrolman Christopher Dynys, Patrolman Joshua Erb, Patrolman Jeffrey Raymond, Patrolman Steven Kuhmer, Patrolman Derrick Pilarczyk, Patrolman Joshua Wilde and Administrative Assistant Casey Timmons.
Meanwhile, Chief Christopher said, “I have a hands-on rapport with the current staff and we will work well together to succeed.”
Milicia added, “Based on Tim’s abilities and the guys that are here, I was able to walk out of here, assured that this village is in good hands. Without that assurance, I’m not sure I’d be able to walk away.”
