A new chief of police is coming to town for Ontwa Township and Edwardsburg residents.

The community police board has named Cass County 911 lieutenant Doug Westrick as the next chief of the Ontwa Township Edwardsburg Police Department. Westrick was confirmed with a unanimous vote by the board on Tuesday, May 16.

Westrick will fill the hole in the police department left by previous chief of police Tim Kozal, who recently left to become a public safety director in Manistee, Michigan. He will begin in his new position as police chief on June 1.

Westrick has served Cass County since 1990, first serving a patrol officer in Cassopolis Village. He later served as a road officer, sergeant and lieutenant at the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

He has been in his current role as 911 lieutenant since 2003.

“It’s been a goal of mine to advance my career,” Westrick said. “When this opportunity came about, I was ready.”

More so than just his career achievements, Westrick believes that the way he has been ingrained in the Cass community has prepared him to take on the role of police chief in Ontwa Township and Edwardsburg.

“Working with so many years experience in different roles, and currently in a manager role, has prepared me to take on the day-in and day-out tasks,” Westrick said. “I plan on being active in the community and working very hard. I’ve had a lot of support from area leaders and it’s time I earned that support.”

While Westrick does not currently does not have any specific plans for the direction he wants to take the department in, he believes that getting out into the community and seeing what Ontwa Township and Edwardsburg residents think is the first step.

“The first thing I want to do when I get down there is get to know everybody in the office and the community. Get to know the policies and how the department works,” Westrick said. “It’s exciting to come to a community that supports their police officers and police department.”

Westrick also wants build off of the policies and culture that Kozal built during his time at the department.

Jerry Marchetti, Ontwa Township supervisor and member of the board that voted Westrick in, said that Westrick was without a doubt the right man for the job. Marchetti specifically noted how Westrick’s close proximity to Edwardsburg and his longstanding involvement in Cass County made him uniquely qualified to serve as police chief.

“We feel we have a very good man to fill a very important role,” Marchetti said. “It’s nice to have someone close and well qualified to take the position.”

Westrick and his family will not relocate from Cassopolis to Edwardsburg or Ontwa Township, but neither he nor Marchetti feel this is an obstacle to Westrick’s position as police chief as he only lives 10 and a half miles from the police department.