Police chief candidate Larry Klaus speaks at forum
Police officers, faculty and students gathered in the Park Library on May 1 to speak with Larry Klaus, a candidate for Central Michigan University's chief of police.
Current Chief Bill Yeagley announced in February that he would be retiring after 41 years of service. The search for a new chief has narrowed down to four possible candidates, who all have a forum to speak to the public.
Klaus is currently a lieutenant in the CMUPD. He’s part of the threat assessment group, a sexual assault prevention team and works on some internal investigations. Klaus received a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Ferris State University in 1985. He's been policing for more than 34 years.
“Policing is an extremely challenging profession but it’s rewarding for those that allow opportunities to make a difference,” Klaus said in his opening statement. “My policing philosophy is that I view myself as a guardian.”
Both Klaus’ children and wife are CMU alumni. Therefore, Klaus said he wants to advocate for students and protect them as if they are his own children. Klaus enjoys the time to make positive impressions on students when working as a campus police officer as opposed to a community officer, he said.
Klaus said Yeagley has already laid out the groundwork for a safe campus. He does not predict any sweeping changes to protocol under his command, but a few minor tweaks to the investigative process.
Klaus praised CMUPD’s handling of the March 2 shooting last year, saying the situation was contained as well as possible. CMUPD “set the bar” for dealing with violence on a college campus, he said.
Under Klaus’ direction, CMUPD will continue to assist city police when involving off-campus housing and Greek life residence. This means providing resources to help regulate events like Welcome Weekend, Western Weekend and holidays.
Klaus highlighted mental health as the biggest issue facing the student population. Creating more care resources and accurately directing students to treatment will improve overall campus security, he said.
“I’m looking at some ongoing crisis intervention training for our officers to help them figure out what is the best way to approach a situation,” Klaus said. “It’s all about training, connecting people to resources and forming a mental health task force within the region.”
Klaus closed the forum by alluding to his mentor that paved his path towards his career in law enforcement.
“I feel passionate about what I do — this is my calling,” Klaus said. “I’d like the opportunity to lead the CMU police, I want to further professionally develop our staff and continue to keep the campus safe.”
The new police chief will be decided before Yeagley’s retirement becomes effective on July 31. Bruce Borkovich, Kyra Hope and Scott McCanham are the other three candidates.
