EAST LANSING, Mich. – East Lansing Police Chief Jeff Murphy has announced that he will be retiring from the City of East Lansing following more than 30 years of dedicated service. His last day with the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) will be Friday, June 2.
Chief Murphy will be moving on to a serve as the director of security for the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
Chief Murphy’s dedicated service to ELPD dates back to February 1987. He has risen through the ranks over his years of service, serving as supervisor of the ELPD night shift patrol, Accident Team, Conflict Management Team, East Lansing Jail, Special Response Team (SRT), Crime Scene Investigation Unit, ELPD Detective Bureau and ELPD K9 Unit. He was promoted to sergeant in September 1998, lieutenant in June 2011 (at which time he also became an SRT commander), captain in July 2012, deputy chief in February 2015, interim chief in July 2015 and police chief in January 2016.
“Chief Murphy has been an excellent leader and has proven to be humble, dedicated and professional throughout his 30 years of service,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “During his time as chief, he significantly increased the department’s transparency and outreach to the community. He will be sorely missed, but we wish him all the best in this next chapter of his professional career.”
“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of East Lansing and work alongside the hard-working and dedicated officers who make up the East Lansing Police Department,” said Chief Murphy. “The City of East Lansing has been a great place to work. It’s not every organization that has 30-year employees and I think that is a testament to the supportive and positive working environment. It’s going to be hard to leave, but I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
As it is in most communities, the position of chief of police is viewed as extremely important in the City of East Lansing. City leadership plans to undergo an open and competitive search process to select the next chief and the public will be involved in that process. In the interim, East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas appoints Capt. Larry Sparkes to serve as ELPD’s interim chief.