Thursday, May 9, 2013
The department's current deputy chief will be appointed to replace retiring Chief Kirt Bowden at Monday's township board meeting.
Deputy Chief Geof Gaudard will be the next chief of the Bloomfield Township Police Department, township officials announced Thursday. The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees will formally make the appointment at its next meeting Monday at 7 p.m. He replaces Chief Kirt Bowden, who announced his retirement in March. Bowden's last day is May 16, ending a career with the department that started in 1977. The board appointed him chief in 2007. "I will be honored to be appointed police chief of Bloomfield Township where I can carry on the proud tradition of delivering excellent police services to our residents,” Gaudard said in a written statement. “Chief Bowden has provided a strong foundation for our success and we will continue to build …
42.57834
-83.281039
Bloomfield Township Police Department
4200 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
/articles/bloomfield-township-names-gaudard-new-police-chief
1971193
/locations/9370125
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Autopsies for West Maple Elementary School teacher Harry Berkowitz and his suspected killer Thomas Ian Matthews were scheduled Wednesday.
The autopsies of slain West Maple Elementary School teacher Harry Berkowitz and the man police said killed him were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon by the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office, authorities said. Detective Lt. William Castro of the Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department planned to be at the autopsy to glean preliminary results, but final results may not become official until results from toxicology and other tests are known, Police Chief Daniel Roberts said. Roberts confirmed Berkowitz, 72, was shot multiple times and that there's little doubt what or who killed him. The autopsy, however, will likely help investigators define the timeline when police believe roommate Thomas Ian Matthews attacked Berkowitz in the …
42.54674
-83.32153
West Maple Elementary School
6275 Inkster Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
/articles/birmingham-teacher-shot-multiple-times-in-murder-suicide
1472560
/locations/9366270
The beloved Birmingham Public Schools teacher killed Tuesday in a murder-suicide had no local family members that police can identify.
The The Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department has not identified any family members of Harry Berkowitz and is asking for the public to help. Berkowitz, 72, was unmarried, had no children, and although had many close friends and colleagues in the Birmingham Public Schools, didn't talk much about his own family, said Chief Daniel Roberts. "We have not been able to find anyone locally or out of town for that matter," he said Wednesday. "We've talked to many friends, associates, and colleagues, but really haven't been able to come up with a name." Berkowitz worked in the Birmingham Public Schools for nearly 47 years, and most recently was a specialist that worked with students at West Maple Elementary School. Police said he was murdered …
42.52452
-83.305884
32311 Franklin Rd, Franklin, MI
Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department
/articles/police-seek-help-finding-birmingham-teacher-harry-berkowitz-s-relatives
/locations/9365342
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Police continue to investigate the deaths of a long-time teacher in the Birmingham School and the suspected killer, who barricaded himself in a home Tuesday.
A Franklin man wanted in the death of a long-time Birmingham Public Schools teacher was found dead inside a home in Royal Oak following a stand-off with police that lasted for several hours Tuesday. Authorities confirmed Thomas Ian Matthews, 33, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom of a home in 2200 block of Sprague Street. Members of the Southeast Oakland SWAT team found Matthews after a robot searched the home shortly before 3 p.m., a news release stated. He reportedly arrived at the home shortly before 10 a.m. and refused to talk to police that responded there at the request of Franklin police investigating a homicide. Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad confirmed longtime West Maple Elementary …
Police from multiple jurisdictions are in Royal Oak assisting with a lead related to the case, officials said.
5:15 p.m.: Birmingham school officials confirmed that Harry Berkowitz, a long-time teacher at West Maple Elementary School died Tuesday. While the investigation is ongiong, police identified Thomas Ian Matthews, 33, as a suspect in Berkowitz's death, and later found him dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department is investigating the suspicious death of a resident that is likely tied to an ongoing police situation in Royal Oak, authorities said. Franklin-Bingham Farms police officers responded to 26000 block of Charles Street this morning and discovered the dead resident, whose identity is not being released this afternoon pending notification to relatives, a press release stated. "The …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Find out what crimes made headlines in neighboring communities over the past week.
The following information was supplied by area police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate convictions. ROYAL OAK: Man Arrested After Breaking Into Royal Oak Church Citizen alerted police to man scaling a metal pipe to get into the building, police said. BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP: Police Issue Another Warning After Mail Theft Reports The Bloomfield Township Police Department urges residents to use official U.S. Postal Service boxes for outgoing mail. TROY: Woman Tells Troy Police, 'I Should Not be Driving' The following information was obtained from the Troy Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction. CLAWSON: Clawson Man Arrested After Driving Drunk with …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Police said another resident fell for a popular scam involving a 'relative' in distress.
Detectives with the Bloomfield Township Police Department are investigating another case of what's commonly known as the 'grandparent scam,' involving a local victim who was tricked into wiring money for a relative in trouble, reports said. The resident in 4000 Block of Pine Tree Trail told police that someone that identified himself as an officer with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico called on April 29 and said his grandson under arrest and in a Mexican jail. The caller said the grandson needed money wired immediately to bail him out. The man wired the undisclosed amount of money to the third party, and later learned his grandson was still in Michigan. The department issued a warning to residents about the scam in February after another victim …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Bloomfield Township Police Department urges residents to use official U.S. Postal Service boxes for outgoing mail.
Updated 4 p.m. with general location of thefts. Officials with the Bloomfield Township Police Department continue to warn residents about the safety of their incoming and outgoing mail following another report of mail tampering and theft last week. A warning on the department's Facebook page said officers received a number of reports and made it clear the target is outgoing checks. They offer easy access to a victim's bank accounts and can be used to make fraudulent checks payable to other people. "Whenever possible, place your outgoing checks in U.S. Postal Service mailboxes located around the Township, or at the U.S. Post Office. Alternatively, consider setting up electronic bill payment with those payees. It's fast and safe," the …
42.57834
-83.281039
Bloomfield Township Police Department
4200 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
/articles/police-issue-another-warning-after-mail-theft-reports
1971193
/locations/9342535
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Find out what crimes made headlines in neighboring communities over the past week.
The following information was supplied by area police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate convictions. BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP: Police Stop Men Walking with BB Guns in Wabeek Bloomfield Township police officers responded to a call about armed men walking down Wabeek Lake Drive. BIRMINGHAM: Birmingham Police Seek Gas Station Burglar Surveillance video captures the man who smashed the front glass door if a Mobil station at about 4:30 a.m. Can you help identify him? BERKLEY: Berkley Armed Robbery Suspect Sought A woman was physically unharmed but her purse was taken by a man wearing a dark, hooded shirt early Thursday outside the Blarney Stone Pub. TROY: Troy Police Help to Nab Home Invasion Suspect Lucious…
Saturday, April 27, 2013
The Bloomfield Township Police Department provided this information. Arrests, where they are mentioned, do not indicate conviction.
Officers with the Bloomfield Township Police Department are trying to identify a woman that stole a basket full of diet pills from CVS/Pharmacy last week. The woman walked into the store and loaded a hand basket with diet pills. Reports said that a manager tried to blocked the woman from leaving in the doorway, the shoplifter said she would pay for the items. When the manager took a few steps backward, the woman ran out of the store and into a vehicle nearby that sped off. The stolen pills are valued at a bout $500, reports said. She is described as white, between 22-30 years old, with dirty-blonde hair. She wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans. Identity Theft A resident in the 600 Block of Fox Hills told police that someone filed a …
42.57834
-83.281039
Bloomfield Township Police Department
4200 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
/articles/police-investigate-larcenies-retail-fraud-and-identity-theft
1971193
/locations/9320143
Racer Boy
5:57 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013
If the Township cops were not spending so much time confiscating BB guns, maybe they coud catch REAL criminals. more ›