KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Wednesday evening, the City of Kalamazoo announced that the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) Chief Karianne Thomas will be stepping down from her position at the end of the month.
According to the announcement, Chief Karianne Thomas, who spent 27 years at the department, will step down September 30. Officials say Thomas was eligible for full retirement as of 2017 and will receive a one-year severance package, per her contract.
Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley has been named chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety effective October 1.
“I’m truly honored to have served the Kalamazoo community and its amazing residents for 27 years,” Thomas said in a statement. “I am proud to have served as Kalamazoo’s first female chief and I am excited to pass the baton to Assistant Chief Coakley, who has the leadership skills and vision to take this incredible department to the next level. I will truly miss the men and women who put it all on the line every day to keep our community safe.”
The city detailed her career with the department, which included work as a Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team investigator, crime lab technician and specialist, detective bureau sergeant, Drug Enforcement Administration task force agent, inspector, assistant chief and deputy chief.
“Chief Thomas has truly been an outstanding public safety chief and community leader and we wish her and her family all the best in her retirement,” City Manager Jim Ritsema said in a statement. “Chief Thomas helped build an outstanding department that has become a model for public safety services across the nation and we look forward to working with Chief Coakley to build on KDPS’ many successes and continue its track record of service and safety.”
Coakley was promoted from captain to assistant chief in 2017. He has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience and has served the Kalamazoo community since 1998. Prior to Kalamazoo, he served in the Detroit Police Department for five years starting in 1993.
“Chief Thomas leaves behind huge shoes to fill and I am truly thankful for the opportunity to learn from her, build upon our department’s many successes and help take the country’s largest combined public safety organization to the next level,” Coakley said in a statement. “The Kalamazoo community needs to come together and I look forward to strengthening our relationships and partnerships with businesses, faith leaders and our entire Kalamazoo community to move us forward.”
The news of this development comes after Kalamazoo citizens have aimed criticism at how KDPS has handled protests in recent months, including a Proud Boys rally that turned violent last month.
Following this event, citizens had called City Commissioners during subsequent meetings to voice their disappointment with how the event was handled, including having Thomas be replaced. Some callers had also expressed their desire for city leaders to step down, as well.
Wednesday evening, protests were continuing outside the Kalamazoo County courthouse downtown, where participants said they planned to continue to do so through September.
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