Meet New Public Safety Officer Tom Burnette

Tom Burnette grew up wanting to be a police officer. He also wanted to be a firefighter, but his passion for policing outweighed firefighting and he began his career as a police officer.

Now he is both as a public safety officer in the . Burnette, began with the City in October, and after completing the fire academy in mid-December, he began his field training with Officer Joe Adams.

Burnette completed his field training with Adams and began road patrols on his own in late January. This week he fought his first on Mack Avenue.

What he enjoys about working the City of Grosse Pointe is "hunting the criminal element," he said, explaining he began his full-time policing career in Ypsilanti where he often spent of his shift responding to emergency calls. In Grosse Pointe, he said, the style of policing is different in that officers are able to be more proactive rather than simply reactive.

"We are a welcomed necessity. It is community oriented and more about keeping crime surpressed rather than responding to it," Burnette said.

The first generation public safety officer holds a degree in criminal justice from Ferris State University, where he also completed the police academy and graduated with honors. During his time there he was the president of the university's professional criminal justice fraternity.

He began his policing career as a seasonal officer in Ocean City, NJ, during three summer breaks from Ferris State. In 2010, he began working as a seasonal officer in Cadillac, Mich., and then began his first full-time policing job in Ypsilanti the same year.

His interest in Grosse Pointe surfaced after he found out from a friend who is a public safety officer that the City would be hiring, he said. By moving to a public safety department from a department that was strictly police, he achieved the best of both worlds for himself: being a police officer and a firefighter.

Now, as he patrols the streets of the City of Grosse Pointe, Burnette said he's enjoying the community atmosphere. He's also still getting to know the City and settling into the type of policing that varied from his background.

Burnette grew up in Clinton Township and he still lives there. In his time away from work, he is a sports fan watching the games of the Red Wings and the Tigers. He also enjoys health and fitness activities and has stayed active with Ferris State University.