Courtesy photo Escanaba Public Safety Director John Gudwer is retiring at the end of August.

ESCANABA — The Escanaba Director of Public Safety is retiring at the beginning of September.

John Gudwer announced that he is retiring from his position as director of public safety, having served nearly 27 years in law enforcement.

His last day with the department will be on Labor Day, Sept. 1.

Gudwer graduated from Northern Michigan University (NMU) in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice.

He began his career at the Delta County Jail after college, before attending the police academy and graduating in 1998.

After the academy, Gudwer went to work at the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office in the road patrol division in January of 1999. He would work there until November of 1999, when he began his career in Escanaba as a public safety officer.

In January 2010, Gudwer was promoted to detective before testing for the position of road patrol sergeant.

He said he really enjoyed the detective position, but the road patrol made more sense for him to progress in his career.

“I knew if I wanted to advance in my career, and my best opportunity would be to take the road patrol sergeant position,” Gudwer said.

In 2016, Gudwer was promoted to road patrol lieutenant, before being promoted again in 2021 as a detective lieutenant.

On June 9, 2023, Gudwer was appointed to the director’s position.

Now, with over 26 years of service under his belt and eligible for his pension, Gudwer is hanging it up.

“I really enjoy what I’m doing. I really believe in our mission,” Gudwer said.

“I feel my passion for law enforcement as much as I did when I was hired for my first job. I love it. I love what we do. I love the opportunity to help people.”

As Gudwer advanced in his career, he was able to get involved with local groups and share what he and his department are doing.

Before he became director, Gudwer was tasked with establishing a citizens’ academy, which remains active today. He said he enjoyed the academy because it gave the public insight into how the department and officers operate.

“I think a lot of what we do is maybe not understood by the public, and it’s understandable why they wouldn’t, because you know we get trainings, we watch training videos,” he said.

He explained that there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop, as officers never know who or what may be in a vehicle.

“You don’t know who’s in that car. You don’t know what they might have just done. You don’t know what their thoughts are. You don’t know what they’re going through or what their intentions might be because they could have just committed a serious crime,” Gudwer explained.

In the citizens’ academy, participants would watch traffic stop videos and other informative videos to show what it’s like to be in an officer’s shoes.

Gudwer prefaced that he feels very fortunate to live in Delta County, saying there are great people throughout the county.

“We live in a wonderful community. I’m so appreciative of where I live in Delta County, and to serve the wonderful people in our community, because we are so lucky that we live where we live, in my opinion,” he said.

He added that he wanted the public not only to get to know the department as an agency, but also to get to know law enforcement personnel as individuals.

“Like in the citizens’ academy, they get to know John, you know, not a uniform or someone driving around in a patrol car,” he said. “We’re just normal people with families, trying to do good for our community.”

He said the department is always looking to make connections with the community, whether that be Shop with a Cop or the Hero program spearheaded by Detective Tabitha Turnacliff.

He also mentioned Christmas time when he, staff, Santa, and the Grinch would deliver gifts to kids around the county.

“The look on the children’s faces was priceless,” he said.

Gudwer reiterated that the department is always ready to step up and provide assistance to the public.

“You can always trust us. When you need help, we will be there for you. We will be, we’re running into that place where everybody’s running out of to get to safety,” he said.

Gudwer said that his department is always on the lookout and ready to jump in if the public needs assistance.

He spoke about his staff and the people he has worked with throughout his career, saying he has had the pleasure of getting to know some great individuals.

“Officers take money out of their own pockets to give to people who need to eat or are in positions and need assistance in some way, and officers will just pull money out of their own pockets and do it. They don’t have to; they just do it because they have a good heart,” he shared.

He added that his staff are not only good people, but great and hard-working employees.

“I appreciate every one of them because they all bring something positive to the department, and they all do a good job,” he said.

While he may not get to see it happen, the public safety facility is receiving some much-needed upgrades in the new fiscal year.

“In this budget, I got approved for renovating our locker room, updating to LED lighting on the fire floor, and new doors on our police garage,” he said.

When asked about the highlights of his career, Gudwer’s answer was simple and to the point.

“Highlights of my career are just all the times where I was being able to be put in a position to help somebody,” he said.

He said while it might sound cliché, it’s the absolute truth.

“That’s really the highlight of my career that I was able to be in a position to help people,” he said.

Gudwer also pushed for his officers to be publicly recognized when they receive an excellence or life-saving award. He said officers used to be recognized in the office, surrounded by their peers. He wanted the public to know about his team’s success, so he started presenting awards during Escanaba City Council meetings.

While Gudwer is retiring from the department, he will remain active in the community, continuing to do what he loves most – helping people.

It was announced at the most recent Escanaba School Board meeting that Gudwer was hired as a paraprofessional in the Escanaba Area Schools system.

A paraprofessional is an individual assigned to support a student and assist them with their studies.

Gudwer said he also plans to use his retirement to spend time with his family, who have supported him throughout his entire career.

“My entire family was always supportive,” he said.

Even though Gudwer missed some holidays and family events, his parents, wife, son, and the rest of his family supported him the entire way.

“It would’ve been a lot harder to do it without them and their support,” he said.

Gudwer will get to enjoy time with his wife, Julie; his son, Kade; and his two grandchildren, Forrest and Lena.

Gudwer shared that the department is in a good place moving forward, as several good young officers are working to become a part of the department.

“The future is bright here at Escanaba Public Safety,” he said.