By Jim Bloch
Say so long to St. Clair Police Chief Tim Raker.
After 44 years of service in law enforcement, eight helming the St. Clair Police Department, Raker is retiring at the end of December.
At its regular meeting Dec. 1, the city council recognized Raker for his leadership.
Sgt. Don Ennis presented Raker with a shadow box containing shoulder patches from four of the departments he has served.
“His remarkable career is a testament to his unwavering commitment and exceptional leadership,” said Ennis, as heard on the CTV-Channel 6 recording of the meeting posted on YouTube.
Raker started his career in 1981 at the Houston Police Department as a patrol officer and an accident reconstructionist. In 1988, Raker returned to Michigan to work for the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office as a special deputy and a warrant officer.
“In 1994, he began his actual career with the city of Marysville as a patrol officer,” said Ennis. “Some of his duties there were a DARE officer, school resource officer, forensic interviewer and death investigator. In 2015, he retired as a patrol sergeant. As a parttime job, if he wasn’t busy enough, 2000-2017, he worked with the FEMA Disaster Mortuary Response Team where he responded to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, the Haiti earthquake and the Joplin, Missouri, tornado. While there, he recovered human remains, bringing them back to families for foreclosure and burial.”
The tornado spun into Joplin as an EF5, May 22, 2011; more than 150 people died.
Ennis said that Raker has plenty of hair-raising tales about collecting those body parts.
“Kinda morbid,” said Ennis – but good stories.
In 2017, SCPD hired him as a patrol officer. He worked midnights for a year before being named chief.
“I’ve had the honor of working with Chief Raker for the past nine years and he has undoubtedly transformed the SCPD for the better,” Ennis said. “From the beginning, he established the St. Clair Police Academy, which has become a cornerstone for the police service volunteers and the St. Clair Police Foundation. Chief Raker has bridged the gap between law enforcement and the community. He consistently brings a positive attitude to work and demonstrates the importance of listening before speaking. His impact on the
department and our community is truly remarkable. St. Clair police officers want to extend our heartfelt thank you for your amazing leadership and we wish you the best as you embark on the future chapter of your life.”
The audience and the members of the city council gave Raker an standing ovation.
“This job has never been about me,” said Raker. “Everything (Ennis) mentioned – just service. I’ve served people. From walking in the swamps in Louisiana to digging in the rubble in Haiti, all the people I’ve touched, and some I’ve changed the trajectory of their lives for the good and comforted a lot of people in the bad times of their lives. But this is a young man’s game. It’s time to step out. It’s been an honor to be your chief.”
Raker said he would assist in the transition to a new chief.
Mayor Bill Cedar presented Raker with a certificate of appreciation.
“I can say you were a really good chief,” said Cedar. “But really you’re just a good man and a good person.”
Cedar said that Raker was always calm; he listened, thought about the issues at hand and worked through them.
“I really appreciated that,” Cedar said. “But he can be tricky. I remember one of those Safety Town things, where they had a dunk tank. He convinced me. That water’s warm, Bill. And it’s clean.”
As the mayor soon discovered, it was neither.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
