Kalamazoo Township has a new police chief and the board got its first formal introduction to him and his leadership team at Monday night’s meeting.
Chief Darien Smith, promoted roughly two weeks ago, appeared before the Board of Trustees alongside Lieutenant Derek Thompson and Administrative Sergeant Matthew Davis. All three promotions were made from within the department.
Smith has been with Kalamazoo Township for 23 years, following a year as an officer in a smaller department. He is a lifelong Kalamazoo-area resident, a detail he offered with some local texture, noting he remembered when Nazareth College was still a functioning campus because his grandmother lived nearby.
“I do appreciate the opportunity to serve as your next chief of police,” he told the board.
Lieutenant Thompson, who will oversee the patrol division, has been with the Township for 11 years. He came to the area from Holland and was most recently promoted from the community policing unit.
Administrative Sergeant Davis will lead support services. He joined the Township in 2015 after roughly a decade in law enforcement, including time with the City of Three Rivers, and has served as a patrol sergeant since 2018.
Superintendent Moored noted that all three promotions were internal, a fact the board received as a sign of continuity during what several members acknowledged has been a period of significant change for the department. Board members expressed appreciation for the leadership team’s steadiness through that transition.
“I know that Township police have gone through a lot of change the past several months,” said Supervisor Combs. “Thank you all for maintaining the consistency, both in leadership and service.”
Chief Smith was also formally appointed to the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority Board, continuing a tradition of the Township’s police chief serving in that capacity.
