Saline to Hire Former WSCO Commander Marlene Radzik as Deputy Police Chief

Former Saline resident Marlene Radzik, who retired from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office as Services Commander in 2018, will be the Deputy Police Chief of the Saline Police Department.

Mayor Brian Marl announced Radzik's hiring during an interview with The Saline Post Tuesday.

Radzik began her career with the WSCO in March of 1989 as a corrections officer and held numerous positions in the organization, including deputy, sergeant and lieutenant. 

She becomes the city's first deputy police chief since the city eliminated the position following Jack Ceo's retirement in 2011.

"I’m pleased to announce the new deputy chief will be Marlene Radzik.  She’s intimately familiar with this community. More importantly, she has stellar credentials," Marl said. "She is universally known and respected in the Washtenaw law enforcement community. We are really excited to welcome Marlene aboard."

Her hiring came after a search by Saline Police Chief Jerrod Hart. Marl said she will start July 20.

During her career with the WSCO, Radzik was the recipient of many honors and awards. She received four unit citations and five individual meritorious service awards. She was also awarded a Sheriff's Special Citation for the exemplary performance of her duties and received the rarely-awarded Sheriff's Office Medal of Valor.

She was twice named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, once from the Optimist Club of Ypsilanti and once from the Optimist Club of Ann Arbor.

Radzik has worked in an undercover capacity for the WSCO. She was also a member of the Underwater Search and Recovery Team.

She was known in the communities of Lodi and Manchester for her policing role.

She is married to her husband Mike. Together, they have raised six daughters.

Marl noted that Radzik will make history in the police department.

"When Marlene Radzik assumes the Deputy Police Chief position, I believe she will make history because there has never been a woman of higher rank in the Saline Police Department since its inception shortly after the Second World War," Marl said.

Radzik will be the third female sworn officer in the department, joining Officer Jennifer Dettling and Morgan Sieja, hired May 18.

Marl said the city is making a conscientious effort to hire more women and have a more diverse roster of employees. Diversity is a priority for the city, Marl said.

“Certainly, we want to attract the best and brightest when there are vacancies, but it goes beyond that," Marl said. "We want people to feel comfortable and feel like they are represented within the ranks of our employees at city hall. That means more women and attracting more people of color and people from outside the community who can enrich our organization with a different perspective.”

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