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Canton honors Police Director Chad Bau on retirement after 29 years
Summary
The Canton Township Board of Trustees recognized Director of Police Services Chad Bau for 29 years of service at its Sept. 9 meeting, reading a formal statement of appreciation and introducing Deputy Chief Joe Bily as interim chief.
The Canton Township Board of Trustees and community members honored Director of Police Services Chief Chad Bau at the Sept. 9 meeting, recognizing his 29 years with the Canton Police Department and his leadership on programs such as an embedded police clinician, juvenile diversion and community engagement initiatives.
Supervisor Ann Marie Graham Hudak read a formal retirement recognition that recounted Bau's career path through nearly every rank in the department and listed several initiatives attributed to his tenure: creation of an embedded police clinician program, founding the community engagement team, development of a juvenile diversion program, establishment of a police statistics dashboard and participation in civilian oversight and statewide working groups on human trafficking and substance-use disorder advisory activities.
Community members and board members offered personal tributes. Former trustee Steven Snyderman called Bau"the best of the best" and credited his leadership for helping Canton navigate the pandemic and difficult moments in national race relations. Multiple trustees and residents praised Baufor empathy and community engagement, citing events such as annual outreach iftars and programs intended to build trust across Canton's diverse population.
Bau spoke briefly to thank the community, his family and department staff. He described the role as a team effort, credited predecessors and colleagues for establishing foundations he built upon, and called the department staff "extraordinary humans." Bau acknowledged the support of his family and said he felt humbled to have served.
Deputy Chief Joe Bily was introduced as the interim chief; trustees said a celebration with refreshments would follow the meeting.
Ending
Trustees read a congratulatory resolution and invited attendees to a post-meeting reception. The board did not record a separate formal vote in the transcript on the reading beyond adopting an earlier agenda change to move the recognition to the end of the meeting.
