CUMBERLAND — Exactly 50 years ago today, a 20-year-old rookie police officer started his law enforcement career in Indianapolis, where he stayed for 35 years, until 2004.
Since then, for the past 15 years, Michael Crooke has been the chief of police for the Cumberland Metropolitan Police Department.
His life’s work as a public safety officer officially came to an end today when Crooke, 70, began his official first day of retirement from a job he considered demanding but rewarding.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“To love what you do and to know what matters, there is no greater feeling in the world to be able to do that,” Crooke said.
Crooke has only had two employers in his career. He started as an officer for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in 1969 before transferring to the force’s homicide division, where he worked for 22 years and gained a stellar statewide reputation.
Upon retiring from IMPD, Crooke knew he still wanted to give back to a community, so he became Cumberland’s police chief.
A self-described workaholic, Crooke operated for years on as little as four hours of sleep a night. He admitted he had a hard time making the decision to finally lay down the shield.
“The truth of the matter is, I still wake up every morning feeling like there is more for me to do,” Crooke said.
That type of work ethic is something he’s tried to instill with the Cumberland police force, where his son, Michael Crooke Jr.; and daughter, Suzanne Woodland, both work.
Woodland, 43, has been part of the police force since 2008, when she came on as a reserve police officer. Over the past 10 years, she has worked her way through the ranks.
She has been appointed the interim chief of police.
Woodland is hoping to land the job permanently, she said, and use the wisdom her father shared with her through the years.
“I like to tell people when they ask ‘how much experience do you have in law enforcement?’ I always say, ‘I have 43 years because of living with my dad,’” she said.
Her father was thrilled to see the Cumberland police commission unanimously appoint Woodland, the commander of investigations, as the interim chief.
Like any good father, Crooke said he had a talk with his daughter about the demands of leading the force, and he certain she’s up to the task.
However, Woodland and other town officials know replacing the retired chief, who has a wealth of law enforcement experience, will be a tough task.
“He will be greatly missed,” said Anna Pea, a longtime member of the Cumberland Town Council. “I always felt a sense of ease of having him as our chief because of his experience.”
She also liked how Crooke was always looking for ways for officers to continue their law enforcement education. She found the chief to be creative and innovative.
Crooke implemented numerous policy updates; created community outreach programs to curb crime; and was lauded by town officials for increasing the number of officer patrols.
He was also a big advocate of officer preparedness and made sure there were always plenty of opportunities for officer training and education, Pea said. Crooke was also responsible for creating the CMPD Care Unit, addressing mental health outreach for the department.
One of the biggest things Crooke enjoyed about his job was getting the force to work as a unit for the town, he said. He noted the job was never about him or one officer, but the whole police force.
“It’s always been our guys, our community, our department,” he said. “It was never mine.”
Crooke plans to spend some down time with his wife, Jane, and recharge before figuring out how he can still remain active in the community through some type of leadership program, he said.
Town manager April Fisher thinks the chief has left the department in a strong position and feels Cumberland has great officers who will make sure the transition goes smoothly without any kind of disruption to law enforcement service, she said.
Town officials believe it could take up to nine months to find Crooke’s replacement.
“Everyone says wonderful things about their dad,” Woodland said. “But, my dad, he was a father figure to everybody around here… We’ve got some big shoes to fill.”
