(This story has been updated due to an inaccuracy.)
COLDWATER, MI. — Coldwater’s Director of Public Safety Joseph Scheid died suddenly at the Public Safety Building at 57 Division St. on Monday evening, Aug. 3, Mayor Tom Kramer said he had been informed.
Further details have not been released at this time.
“I am shocked. He was such a good young man, fair to everyone,” Kramer said. The mayor expects an official statement from the city on Tuesday.
Scheid started with the department in December 1996, upon graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Criminal Justice/Police Science from Grand Valley State University.
Scheid was selected in November of 2012 to begin the process of taking over as director of the joint fire/police department and began fire training certification. He completed the training in September 2013.
Scheid was deputy director of public safety from 2016-2018 and director of public safety starting in 2019.
Throughout his career, he was known for his commitment to community safety, professional law enforcement standards, and service to the residents of Coldwater and Branch County.
Scheid and his police department worked to achieve accreditation as a law enforcement agency through the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, administered by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. The department first achieved accreditation on Sep. 14, 2022, and completed a re-accreditation assessment in 2025.
In 2023, Scheid launched a neighborhood outreach program in Coldwater and held community meetings in the city’s First Ward, an area home to many members of the Arab community. Scheid said at the time the goal was to stay connected with residents, discuss neighborhood concerns, and build relationships between the police department and the community. He had also built a rapport with Coldwater’s Haitian Community.
Scheid and his wife, Jodie, have two daughters.
Contact Don Reid, dReid@USATodayCo.Com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater public safety director dies
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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By Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter | USA TODAY Network
