March 3, 2005

Veteran officer Grote appointed chief of police

By Robert Mihalek

In 2003 when the Village was searching for a new police chief, John Grote, who was placed in charge of the department on an interim basis, never applied for the permanent position.

This year, however, when another chief, Carl Bush, stepped down in early February for personal reasons, Grote decided it was time for a new challenge. Eight days after he applied for the job, Grote, who is 47, was named by Village Manager Rob Hillard as the new chief of police.

“I felt like it was time to step up,” Grote said in an interview in his Police Department office last Friday. He added, “I thought I could do a good job. That’s the bottom line.”

Grote admitted that he contemplated applying for the chief’s position two years ago, after the head of the force, Jim Miller, was placed on administrative leave and later retired. However, Grote recalled, “I didn’t think I was ready.”

Plus, Grote said, the Village’s search for a new chief generated “other candidates that could, and in Carl’s case did, do an excellent job.”

Grote also had gained valuable experience while leading the department three times on an interim basis since 1998, when he was named the Police Department’s first captain. “You get some confidence [that] you know what needs to get done and deal with the tasks at hand,” he said.

“I felt I could do this job and hopefully I can do it well,” he said.

‘Best candidate’ was Grote

Hillard officially offered the position of police chief to Grote on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 22. They reached a contract agreement that same day. Grote will make $65,000 a year.

The manager praised Grote for his “understanding of the community” and how Yellow Springs values “community policing.”

“He’s skilled as a police officer and as a leader. I’ve always appreciated his skills,” Hillard said in an interview last week, before he went on a medical leave. Hillard said that Grote gained valuable experience while serving as interim chief, a position he filled for a total of 14 months in 1999, 2000 and 2003. He described Grote as the “best candidate” for the job.

Unlike in 2003, when Hillard convened a search committee and conducted a wide advertising campaign, the search this year was more low key and simpler.

The job opening was posted internally within the Village organization, as required by the Village personnel policy manual, Hillard said. Because of publicity from media reports, Hillard said, he did receive “a couple of applications” and an estimated five or six phone calls about the job. In addition to Grote, Sergeant Tom Jones applied for the position, Hillard said.

After Grote applied for the job, he and Hillard started talking. “Once he put his name in he was my serious candidate,” Hillard said.

A frantic first few days

Now that he’s chief, Grote plans to add to some of the work that his predecessor, Bush, had started, including focusing on more training for department personnel.

“I liked some of the things he was doing,” Grote said of Bush.

Grote’s plans include working with the Greene County Domestic Violence Project on officer training, more firearm training and coordinating with other agencies about additional training on sobriety testing.

“Training is very important, especially for a small department where you have to wear a lot of hats,” he said. Later he added, “Just staying on top of training, that’s really a never-ending process.”

He does not plan to fill the captain’s position right now, saying that decision is not an immediate task. With seven other full-time officers on the force, the department is up to what is considered full strength.

Grote’s first few days as chief were extremely busy. He estimated that he had been putting in 13- or 14-hour days. “It’s a frantic pace,” he said, and it’s easy to get sidetracked because so many tasks need your attention. He compared his job to juggling, “seeing how many balls you can keep up in the air at one time.” When asked if he’s a good juggler, Grote said yes.

“With this position, you’re dealing with so many issues, so many tasks at hand, so many agencies,” he said.

The day this interview took place, Feb. 25, Grote received 30 messages, some of which, he said, “you need to deal with right away.” It was supposed to be his day off, but he had to come into work to prepare for and attend a news conference on the investigation into the murder of Timothy Harris, among other things. He planned to work the next day, too, to catch up on work and be available for community members who may need to reach him.

“I want to be available to the public,” he said, but the public doesn’t always have a Monday through Friday schedule.

A year ago, Grote suffered a heart attack. It was an event, he said, that changed him. He prioritized his life, he said, spending more time with his family, especially his daughter, Erin Grote, who is a student at the Antioch School.

“A heart attack is something that’s ever-present in your mind, that little voice that says, ‘take it easy,’ ” he said.

Sense of ownership

Grote is a Yellow Springs native. He graduated from Yellow Springs High School in 1975 and received a BS in biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1979. He served as a firefighter and paramedic with Miami Township Fire-Rescue from 1976 to 1987.

Both sets of his grandparents grew up and lived in the village. One of his grandfathers was the postmaster, one grandmother was the principal at the high school. His father, John Grote, owned Grote’s Dairy Station.

This is his 19th year on the Police Department. In 1984, he was hired by Jim McKee, the longtime police chief who died in 2003. He left the force in ’87 when his wife, Liz Blakelock, who is a veterinarian, got a job in Pennsylvania. When they returned to Yellow Springs in 1990 — “because we felt this was the place to raise a kid,” as Grote put it — he rejoined the Police Department.

His family background and history with this village, Grote said, gives him a sense of home and a feeling of community.

He’s gotten a lot out of serving on the police force and serving the community. Public service, he said, is “somewhat of a symbiotic relationship: giving service and getting something out of it.”

The job is rewarding, he said.

“There’s some ownership with this job,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in Yellow Springs. I like working here.”

“There are things I have done in this job that people don’t know about that I’m most proud of,” he said. “Those times when you can touch lives and make somebody else’s life better.”