Monday, September 21, 2015
Charles “Charlie” Craft served on the Troy Police Department for 29 years, rising through the ranks to Chief of Police on April 13, 1998. He retired on February 23, 2009.
Although Charles was born in Jenkins, Kentucky (1952), his parents Ted and Catherine Craft relocated to Hazel Park, Michigan when their son was very young. Charlie graduated from Hazel Park High School and then earned a BA in Secondary Education at Wayne State University. He pursued a teaching career but found work as a substitute rather than a full time job. Following a bomb scare at one school, he decided to change careers and become a police officer.
After graduation from the Police Academy, Craft worked for the Clawson Police Department for three years. He moved to the Troy Police Department on August 4, 1980. On that day he met a Police Service Aide named Janine. She would become his wife a year later.
Charles Craft had a distinguished career in Troy. He was selected Troy’s Police Officer of the Year in 1986. Following his promotion to sergeant and later lieutenant, he supervised and managed Patrol Operations, Criminal Investigations, Criminal Intelligence, Special Operations, and Internal Affairs. As a captain he commanded the Patrol Division and the Criminal Investigations Division and gained recognition for his positive management style.
Former Mayor Jeanne Stine composed a poem for Chief Craft, which she read at his retirement party. In one stanza she stated, “Janine will tell you Charlie has a Servant Heart, like a doctor, a priest, or a teacher: you can’t tell them apart.” Indeed, Chief Craft was highly respected for his integrity and commitment to public service.
Charles Craft is now the Program Manager for the Macomb Community College Police Academy.
Photo: Chief Charles Craft
Sources:
City of Troy Service Commendation, February 23, 2009
httpss://www.linkedin.com/pub/charles–craft/4a/35/449
Chief of Police, Charles Craft, City of Troy, by Jeanne Stine
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
