History of the Brunswick Division of Police

Police

Contact us

Division of Police
4095 Center Road
Brunswick Ohio 44212

Emergency: 911

Non-Emergency Dispatch:
330-225-9111

Police Offices and Records:
330-558-6893

Robert Safran
Acting Chief
rsafran@brunswick.oh.us

A history of law enforcement in Brunswick

Prior to 1960, law enforcement in what was then Brunswick Township was provided by a constable. The constable’s office was founded in 1937 following the Great Depression when the citizens held an election and voted into office two Constables. The original uniform was an olive green hip length jacket and trousers with a black stripe down each leg. They carried a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver and patrolled in a 1935 Chevrolet with cloth signs stretched across each front door.

In 1960, the city was incorporated and the present day Brunswick Division of Police was founded. The department consisted of a Chief, a Sergeant, and 3 Patrol officers. The first Police Chief was John (aka Fuzzy) Mroczek. Chief Mroczek served from 1960-1966. The original police department was located in the building that is now Fire Station #1 at 4383 Center Road.

In 1974, the present day City Hall at 4095 Center Road was built and the police station was relocated to that building. BPD remained in that police station until 1992 when the current police facility and jail were built connected to the City Hall.

Today the Brunswick Division of Police is a highly trained professional law enforcement agency providing police service to a city of 36,000 residents. The Division has a Chief, two Lieutenants, eight Sergeants, thirty Patrol Officers, three part time Officers, a Communication Supervisor, eleven Communication Specialists, two Part Time Communication Specialists, and one full time and one part time Animal Control Officer.

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Police Chiefs of Brunswick

John F. MroczekJune 15, 1960-December 15, 1966
Clayton M. CrookDecember 16, 1966-February 17, 1969 (acting)
February 18, 1969-December 31, 1988
Patrick BeyerJanuary 1, 1989-February 6, 1989 (acting)
February 7, 1989-February 11, 2003
Dale KozlikFebruary 12, 2003-December 3, 2003 (acting)
December 4, 2003-September 22, 2006
Carl S. DeForestSeptember 23, 2006-December 11, 2006 (acting)
December 12, 2006-June 2, 2017
Brian OhlinJune 3, 2017-present

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Retired BPD personnel

Sgt. Jack BrittainMarch 26, 1962-May 6, 1978
Ofc. Gerald GeringerAugust 10, 1969-June 20, 1992
Dispatcher Barbara RiddellMay 8, 1963-January 15, 1994
Sgt. John StukbauerDecember 20, 1965-August 13, 1995
August 14, 1995-April 30, 2000 (Community Policing Coordinator)
Dispatcher Marian WadeApril 8, 1974-October 7, 1995
Ofc. Richard NattererNovember 26, 1967-November 30, 1996
Dispatcher Virginia BlackmoreJune 28, 1973-February 28, 1997
Sgt. Joseph PateraJune 13, 1967-May 1, 1997
Ofc. Tom DreherApril 25, 1973-May 31, 1998
Ofc. Sam PuzellaOctober 17, 1971-August 31, 1998
Sgt. Carl MedingOctober 20, 1974-April 30, 2000
Sgt. Nick SolarMarch 27, 1978-December 31, 2000
January 1, 2001-June 13th, 2016 (Community Policing Coordinator)
Sgt. Larry WhittakerOctober 4, 1976-June 15, 2002
Dispatcher Becky KovalcsikMarch 10, 1980-April 30, 2005
Dispatcher Lois SeaburnApril 19, 1967-June 1, 2005
Ofc. Len BoumanAugust 10, 1969-August 31, 2006
January 23, 2007-March 25, 2016 (part time)
Ofc. Richard SikonJanuary 20, 1973-July 31, 2007
Ofc. Dale SchnellFebruary 2, 1981-February 6, 2009
Sgt. Larry PringleApril 7, 1986-October 18, 2009
Sgt. Joe McDermottFebruary 26, 1979-April 2, 2010
Ofc. William SchusterSeptember 7, 1978-July 7, 2012
July 23, 2012-April 23, 2020 (part time)
Sgt. Dave SzuterOctober 5, 1978-September 1, 2012
November 7, 2012-December 8, 2022 (part time)
Ofc. Hank PapushakFebruary 2, 1981-April 6, 2013
Ofc. Scott StewartJanuary 8, 1996-April 30, 2014
Sgt. Sam MillamMay 19, 1988-July 11, 2014
Ofc. Dean WeinhardtJune 1, 1988-March 18, 2016
CS Becky RantucciAugust 13, 1984-February 8, 1997 (part time)
February 9, 1997-March 31, 2016 (full time)
CS Joanne SzokeSeptember 24, 1990-June 2, 2017
CS Deborah ForresterApril 4, 1994-September 11, 2017
Ofc. Duane KuehnSeptember 10, 1979-December 25, 2017
April 10, 2018-present (part time)
Ofc. Stefan KarthanSeptember 8, 1987-May 18, 2018
Ofc. Lynda ReevesApril 22, 1996-June 30, 2018
September 11, 2018-September 6, 2019 (part time)
Ofc. Jeff JonesOctober 24, 2000-September 3, 2018
Ofc. Robert CasenhiserOctober 24, 2000 - May 8, 2019
CS Jacci FiserMarch 11, 1990-April 2, 2020
(includes service with North Royalton and Brunswick PDs)
Ofc. Brian SchmittApril 3, 2000-March 2, 2021
CS Terri RohrerJanuary 15, 1992-June 30, 2021
CS Nancy FitzMarch 7, 2005-October 15, 2021
(includes service with Hinckley and Brunswick PDs)
Ofc. Charles WeberNovember 3, 2003-January 21, 2022
Ofc. Mark LucianoApril 2, 2007-April 8, 2022