Grosse Ile commission recommends Deputy Chief Todd Bridal as police chief and names Kevin Counts deputy

The Grosse Ile Township Police Commission voted Oct. 22 to recommend Deputy Chief Todd Bridal to the township board to succeed retiring Chief Carmack and to recommend Lieutenant Kevin Counts for the deputy chief position.

The commission made the two recommendations during a special meeting after interviewing three internal candidates for the chief's role. The commission’s recommendation is advisory; the township board will make the final appointments at its next meeting. The commission also directed that the lieutenant vacancy created by these moves be posted internally after the board’s approvals.

Commission members praised all three chief candidates and described the choice as difficult. "I was very impressed with the depth of experience and the training all three of these gentlemen have, and I think any one of them would make an excellent chief," said Trustee (name not specified). Another trustee described the decision as one of the most difficult of their service, saying, "This was probably one of the most difficult decisions thus far I've had to make as a trustee." The commission framed the recommendations as a line-of-succession decision intended to preserve continuity: several members said the selected pair would complement each other if the board approves both recommendations.

Formal motions were made and seconded to forward the two recommendations to the township board. The commission chair called for a vote on the recommendation to forward Deputy Chief Todd Bridal's name for chief; members responded "Aye," and the motion passed. The commission then moved and seconded a recommendation that Lieutenant Kevin Counts be named deputy chief; members likewise voted in favor and the motion passed. The meeting record does not list individual roll-call votes or counts beyond the commission chair's announcement of unanimous assent.

The commission discussed next steps: staff will notify the three candidates of the commission's decision promptly and will email a formal notice to them, and the township board is expected to consider both recommendations at its next meeting. If the township board approves the recommendations, the commission expects to post the lieutenant position internally and to schedule interviews for that vacancy. The commission stated the lieutenant posting will be limited to current employees ("in house") as the process used for the chief recommendation.

No salaries, effective dates, or formal employment terms were included in the commission's discussion; those details were not specified and will be determined by the township board and staff as part of the formal appointment process.