Chief Bunten's 47-Year Police Career Draws to a Close

Back in the mid-1960s, early in a 47-year law enforcement career that wraps up Friday, Paul Bunten was riding in an Ann Arbor Police Department patrol car with a fellow officer when a thought occurred to him.

“We were out there catching bad guys, answering calls, driving around town, making arrests and doing our job. I turned and said, ‘I can’t believe they pay me to do this. I would do it for free if I didn’t need money.’”

Nearly 50 years later, Bunten leaves the profession feeling the same way.

“I love this job. I’ve loved every day of it,” said Bunten, who worked in Ann Arbor for nearly 30 years before spending nearly 18 years as Chief of the

Friends will honor his career with an open house from 1-3 p.m. Friday at City Hall.

Bunten grew up on the west side of Ann Arbor as the youngest of four children. His father was a supervisor at Dearborn Stamping and his mother a homemaker.

“We led a very blue collar life. It was a very happy upbringing,” said Bunten.

He played football and baseball at Ann Arbor High School, which is now known as Pioneer. Bunten said he wasn’t a great student—he did just enough to remain eligible to play sports. After graduating in 1961, he worked as a tree trimmer, a a gas station attendent and factory worker at the Ford plant in Rawsonville. A few of his friends worked for the Ann Arbor Fire Department, so Bunten decided to apply for a job.

“The man told me there were no openings on the fire department. But then he told me they needed a police officer and asked me if I was interested,” Bunten remembered.

He was. And just like that, Bunten’s life changed.

On Jan. 11, 1965, 47 years and two days ago, Bunten was hired by the Ann Arbor Police Department. He completed six weeks of training and began work as a beat cop.

Ann Arbor in 1965 bore no resemblance to the Ann Arbor of today.

“It was a very quiet, conservative town,” Bunten said.

On some nights, there were four officers on duty—one in a patrol car and three walking the beat.

“There wasn’t much going on. About the only hot spot in town was the Pretzel Bell restaurant at Liberty and Fourth. They’d have the fight down there or call us because of kids with false IDs,” Bunten said. “There wasn’t much going on.”

It didn’t stay that way long.

The political activism on the University of Michigan campus was beginning to percolate into the town. But for Bunten, Ann Arbor changed on Dec. 21, 1966, during a police shootout out with armed robbers at the Holiday Inn.

“For me, that’s the day every thing kind of changed. Our quiet little town was having serious growing pains,” Bunten said.

Ann Arbor was an interesting place to work in the late 1960s. Bunten had plenty of contact with some of Ann Arbor’s most famous figures, like poet and leader of the White Panther Party John Sinclair, who lived with friends in a commune at 1510 Hill St.

“I remember watching them digging bomb craters in the front yard. I got to know some of them quite well. John Sinclair was nice guy. I liked him,” said Bunten, who wasn’t as fond of Lawrence “Pun” Plamondon. “Pun was kind of weird.”

While the counter culture was bubbling on campus, Ann Arbor was beset by the grizzly “co-ed murders." Bunten was tapped to serve on a task force to investigate the crimes. It was his first taste of detective work and he quickly decided he like it.

“I didn’t know anything about detective work, so I learned a lot,” said Bunten.

During the days, he would help the detectives with investigation. At night, he would put on the uniform and help quell the unrest on campus.

When John Norman Collins was convicted of the murders, Bunten returned to patrol. One day, Bunten was summoned to the office of Chief Walt Krasny.

“I was terrified. Nobody wanted to get called to the chief’s office,” Bunten said.

Instead of a reprimand, Bunten was promoted to detective. Bunten said he was elated by the promotion. For a few months, he was overwhelmed by the new work. But learning from veterans like Bill Canada and Al Vanderpool, Bunten learned the ropes.

“They took me under their wing. Bill Canada taught me a lot about the kind of respect you need to have. He told me that if you are willing to work as hard to prove someone innocent as you are to prove them guilty, then you’ll do just fine as a detective,” Bunten said.

Detective work was thrilling, according to Bunten.

“It’s like the greatest game of tag you’ll ever play in your life. The criminal commits the crime and says, ‘You’re it. Now come and find me.’ And it was my job to find him,” Bunten said.

Bunten said the job could be all consuming at times.

“There were nights when I’d go home and I’d wake up thinking about the case. I’d go back out and drive around. It was really difficult for my family at times,” Bunten said.

The most consuming investigation was the one into Coral Watts, who was a suspect in over 100 murders in Michigan and Texas. Bunten suspected Watts in the murder of three women in Ann Arbor in 1980.

Law enforcement from around the state hounded Watts, but couldn’t make anything stick.

“We tried to be every where he was. I think for him, it got to the point where it was fight or flight. He chose to leave Michigan and go to Texas,”  Bunten said.

In Texas, Watts reign of terror came to an end when one of two women he was attacking escaped while he tried to drown the other in a bathtub. He was caught and, in a deal with prosecutors, pled guilty to burglary with the intent to commit murder and in 1982 was sentenced to 60 years in prison. He confessed to 12 homicides in exchange for immunity. But by 2006, it appeared he might be the first serial killer released from prison.

“It made me sick to think he could get out,” said Bunten.

Michigan law enforcement redoubled their efforts when learning Watts was scheduled to be released. He was convicted in 2004 of the 1979 murder of Helen Dutcher and in 2007 of the 1974 murder of Gloria Steele. He died in 2007. Bunten testified against Watts in the Steele case.

Bunten continued to rise through the ranks in Ann Arbor. He was promoted to captain in 1986.

Bunten came to Saline almost 18 years ago after Jim Douglas left his chief’s post to become a U.S. Marshall. He was chosen from more than 30 applicants.

“It seemed like a natural progression for me. I’d been upwardly mobile in Ann Arbor. The more I looked into Saline, the more it seemed like the right fit,” Bunten said.

He quickly realized the weight of the new position.

“I was sitting in the big chair on the first day of the job and it hit me, that, ‘Whoa, the buck stops here,’” Bunten said. “Before then, when ever I had an issue, I could bring it to someone else. It was quite an awakening to the seriousness of the job.”

Bunten said he enjoyed being Chief of Police in Saline.

“Pubic safety is a big responsibility. As chief, it’s my job to provide leadership and to make sure the police force has the training and equipment to do their job,” said Bunten.

To that end, Bunten and Deputy Chief Jack Ceo, who also spent many years in the Ann Arbor Police Department, focused on training and technology.

“Each year, Jack and I would address the needs of the department and then try to find the training to meet that need. As a result, I think we have a very well-trained and professional police force,” Bunten said.

Bunten also said he was proud of being able to upgrade the department’s technology without breaking the bank. He pointed out that federal grants paid for laptops in the vehicles implementation of the records management system.

Leaving the department after nearly 18 years isn’t easy, Bunten said. But he said after 47 years of doing what he loves, it was time to let his wife, Judy, have it her way.

“She sacrificed a lot so I could do what I loved all these years. I’ve loved every minute of this job, and she’s never once complained.” Bunten said. “It’s her turn now. She wants to live on a lake. If that’s what she wants to do, we’re going to do it."

The Buntens are staying in Michigan. Bunten’s son, Paul, lives in Chelsea, and daughter, Tracy, lives in Manchester. They’ve provided eight grandchildren for the Buntens.