State Police, Sheriff’s Deputies Doing Temporary Patrols in Saginaw

SAGINAW, MI — Saginaw residents may notice more county sheriff’s and Michigan State Police patrol vehicles in their city than usual, but both departments assure that’s no cause for alarm.

Saginaw County Sheriff William L. Federspiel and MSP Sgt. Joe Rowley said on Saturday, July 18, that both of their agencies on the previous day had been asked by Saginaw Police Chief Robert M. Ruth to assist with nighttime patrols due to a personnel shortage.

“He asked us to help cover 911 calls and we both said yes,” Federspiel said. “The Michigan State Police are doing the heavy lifting in the city of Saginaw. They have greater resources, but we’re working as a team.”

He added that every police agency in the county has at various times asked the MSP to help cover calls for service in times of illness, training, or other matters that leave them temporarily short staffed. Federspiel and Rowley did not comment on staffing issues with the Saginaw Police Department, nor could they say how long they would be engaged in this altered detail.

“We do this stuff all the time,” the sheriff said. “We’re just glad to provide our service and stand next to the MSP. We have had a great working relationship.”

The nightshift of Friday, July 17, for example saw 11 MSP troopers, a sergeant and a K9 unit and seven sheriff’s office personnel — including Federspiel himself and Undersheriff Mike Gomez — assigned to Saginaw.

“Typically, we have six troopers assigned to the city with their primary function being traffic enforcement,” Rowley said. “We changed that from active patrol to responding to calls for service.”

The purpose of this temporary change was to ensure those city residents who call 911 have a prompt response time, regardless of what uniform the responding officer is wearing.

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