Battle Creek Police Working on Memorial for Fallen Officers

Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker was a guest on the 95.3 WBCK Morning Show with Tim Collins, and addressed several subjects, including the new marijuana law, and how fallen officers are honored.

Chief Block says they have a Memorial Committee that works on how fallen officers will be honored.  He says they are working with a vendor to put up a memorial that will honor all Battle Creek officers who have been killed in the line of duty.  He says they have money set aside for the memorial and continue to work on it. 

The Chief talked about a box that was found in the old basement of the old police station.  After inspection, they realized that it contained materials that referenced a fallen officer from years ago. Chief Blocker says they want to make sure that things aren't lost and that there is a place to honor all fallen officers. 

Chief Blocker also talked about the marijuana legalization law, and expressed concern about a higher incidence of impaired driving.  He also acknowledged that methods to measure and define "impaired driving" under the influence of marijuana is a work in progress and that there is a lot for the state of Michigan, and science, to work out in that area.

In the video, Chief Blocker also talks about how Bryne grants are being used in the community by the department to address crime "hotspots" in Battle Creek and about  crime trends in 2018.

He says the new police building has allowed the department to work more efficiently, but that it also takes time to get settled in.