As Joe Trigg was sworn in as chief of the Grand Rapids Police Department, Mayor David LaGrand addressed him directly, saying the job comes with responsibility.
Trigg, a 25-year veteran of GRPD, assumed the permanent chief role after having served in the interim capacity since March.
The mayor urged Trigg to remain undeterred in the face of pushback that often comes with being chief.
“This is a real weight that you’re going to be carrying,” LaGrand said. “It doesn’t always come with praise. It comes with strain and stress and finger pointing and false accusations and people impugning your motives and impugning your character.”
City Manager Mark Washington offered Trigg a “reality check” of his own.
“It is hard,” he said of the police chief role. “But it is also honorable, and I know that you will honorably do the hard thing.”
After being sworn in, Chief Trigg addressed the audience and said he sees his new role as a moment to reflect on officers lost in the line of duty, including his best friend, Officer Robert Kozminski, who was shot and killed in 2007. These moments, he said, serve as a reminder to lead his department with integrity.
“The last thing I want is [Kozminski’s] legacy being tarnished by something stupid our men and women did,” Trigg said. “They’re going to make mistakes because they’re human, but we have an accountability system in place to hopefully address that.”
“My drive comes from somewhere deep because I’ve lost somebody in this profession,” he added. “I want to always make sure we’re serving with integrity and honor. We are special people to do this job, to run toward danger, to put your life on the line like [Kozminski] did so many years ago for a family he didn’t even know.”
Trigg’s son, Dauson, serves on GRPD and told The Grand Rapids Herald he is proud of his father’s service to the community.
“I looked at him as a hero my whole life, and to be able to follow in his footsteps and become an officer with Grand Rapids and then see him go and get promoted to chief, it’s an amazing feeling,” Dauson said.
He said his proximity to his dad will only hold him to a higher standard.
“We’ve got plenty of men and women that do this job that look up to him just as much as I do,” he said. “There’s no special treatment I get for being the chief’s son, that definitely isn’t there. If anything, it’s harder on me because I have the standard right there.”
Trigg’s brother, Otis Black, lauded Trigg’s character and said Grand Rapids is lucky to have him leading its police department.
“He will bring all of those characteristics, the life lessons, to his position perfectly to help the next generation,” Black said. “He translates well with the entire community, his experience and his direction.”
Write to jackson@grherald.com