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Medina mayor reflects on policing, drug enforcement and community programs as he nears end of tenure
Summary
An unidentified speaker, serving as mayor of Medina, recounted his childhood, 26 years in the police department and initiatives including community policing, the county drug task force and locally planned marches after George Floyd’s death; he also detailed emergency rescues and downtown investments.
Unidentified Speaker, mayor of Medina, used a long, personal address to recap a career that began with hiring by the Medina Police Department in 1983 and culminated in 16 years as the city's mayor. He described early life in Brunswick, work at local factories and how career‑center training enabled a move into law enforcement.
The mayor framed public safety as a humanitarian mission. He recounted field training and multiple promotions — to sergeant (1989), lieutenant (1991) and police chief (1996) — and said Medina’s approach emphasized community engagement over purely enforcement measures. "If that was my child ... I would want people to do everything they can to preserve life," he said, describing a drowning rescue in which quick actions by officers and medics revived a young boy who was released from the hospital the next day.
The speech outlined concrete safety programs: a community policing division of five officers assigned to businesses, schools and specific housing complexes; targeted traffic enforcement intended to identify impaired drivers rather than only equipment violations; and a revocable use permit the city used to extend trespass authority to apartment managers to keep repeat troublemakers off private‑adjacent sidewalks and streets. On drug enforcement, he said Medina responded to late‑1990s and early‑2000s spikes in heroin, methamphetamine and crack by leading the Medina County Drug Task Force — an operating board of local police chiefs, the sheriff and the county prosecutor — using undercover buys and informants to build cases and seek court‑ordered treatment.
He also discussed how he navigated personnel and equity issues. Recounting an earlier Secret Service interview, he said an interviewer told him, "we can't hire you if you're on insulin," which he described as discriminatory; he later obtained medical certification and was hired in Medina after Chief Homer Davis and Mayor Bill Lamb supported the appointment.
The mayor addressed community response to national protests after George Floyd’s killing, saying Medina organized a mix of marches and services with clergy and police leadership. He described five events on the local square that involved coordination between pastors and command officers and concluded those events proceeded without arrests or property damage. "The symbolism ... was that the police and the community ... should be working together," he said.
The address closed with the speaker noting he was completing his 16th year as mayor (took office 01/01/2010), thanking residents and businesses for their support, and saying he looks forward to turning the mayor’s office over to Jim Shields.
The events and programs described were presented as part history, part operational summary; no formal vote or motion was recorded in the transcript.
