Long Time Police Chief to Retire
By Jackie Salowitz
Tribune Recorder Leader
Tim Torp, the Village of Deckerville’s Police Chief, will serve in this capacity for the last time on July 21, when he retires from this position.
A well-known face in the community, Torp has served the Village of Deckerville as Chief of Police for 12 years.
His 38-year career as a police officer began in Peck, where he served the village for six months. He then worked in Deckerville for six months, before becoming a member of the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Department in 1978. After 25 years with the Sheriff’s Department, he retired in 2003, and came back to Deckerville as Police Chief.
Torp said that he really enjoyed working with the Village of Deckerville, and felt so accepted in the area. He said that Deckerville has always been a community that looks out for each other. By being police chief for 12 years, he has gotten to know the kids from kindergarten through graduation. Although the good memories outweigh the sad ones, he recalled that the saddest moment was when an 18-month old child lost its life in a family home incident, when he tried to resuscitate the child by doing CPR.
A resident of Sandusky, Torp has no plans to move out of the area. He will continue to work with Deckerville’s Homecoming and also the American Legion. His plans for retirement include spending more time with his family – his two children, Tiffany and Christopher and spouses, and also his five grandchildren. Torp will also be working part-time for the City of Sandusky.
Tim Torp would like to thank the community and the Village Council for all of their support through the years. He said that it has been great working with them. He feels that he has built the trust of the community and that should carry over with the new police chief, Bob Willis, a retired police officer from the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office.
Village President Don Murdock commented, “He was good for the Village. It is sad to see him go. He was very helpful with the school. Good for him – he will be fine, we will be fine.”
Village Clerk Audrey Stolicker said, “It was really nice when Tim came back to work in the Village. He is very professional and will be greatly missed by the community, not only as a police officer but also with his commitment to the Village.”