Ron Lichtle introduced Harold Love, our speaker today. Love is a national board certified, fully licensed professional counselor. He currently works in his private practice as a psychotherapist and behavioral health clinician. He is married with 2 children and lives in Clarkston, Michigan.
After 25 years of service with the Michigan State Police he retired in 2013 as a Captain and commander of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. He previously served as Captain and commander of the 2nd District, comprised of over 350 personnel working at multiple work sites including Metro Detroit, St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, Monroe, and Washtenaw.
In 2013 he had an article published by the US Department of Justice COPS Office in a Police Perspectives Guidebook Series entitled Building Trust in a Diverse Nation. He presently serves on the board of directors for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, board member on the Detroit Crime Commission, and was appointed in 2017 by Governor Snyder to the Michigan Board of Counseling. He is also on the Advisor Council with our mayor Bryan Barnett.
He talked at length about protecting the overall wellness of our police force because of what they go through on a daily basis. It was mind boggling to find out all the situations our police force face all the time and the concerns that are there to keep their mental health in good condition. It was great to hear of all the help that our men and women in uniform are increasingly receiving in the last few years. He talked about their being more officers that take their own lives than are killed by others. Our own Police Chief, Steve Schettenhelm, made a comment after the meeting that without the help that was talked about today a good number of his own officers would be out of a career.
Thank you Mr. Harold Love for enlightening us to the help our police force is getting to keep their whole lives in order to protect and serve our communities.