Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is the department in charge of police, fire and rescue in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is the largest public safety department in the nation, with over 300 sworn officers. The Kalamazoo Public Safety Department was created in 1983 when the Kalamazoo Fire Department and the Kalamazoo Police Department merged. As one of the orriginal and largest public safety departments in the nation, KDPS trains other departments on the public safety model.
Divisions
The department has many divisions.
Administration:
This division headed by the Public Safety chief leads and manages all Public Safety operations.
Criminal Investigations:
This division investigates criminal complaints it also is in charge of operations of the Crime Lab.
:*Crime Lab
::Processes Evidence in criminal investigations
Fire Marshal:
Investigation of Fire Scenes, charged with Fire Prevention, Fire Inspection and all fire operations.
Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team:
Multi-jurisdictional narcotics team
Office of Professional Standards:
Investigates complaints of officer misconduct.
Operations
Primary Response Force for police, fire and rescue services. Division composed of:
:*K-9
:supports narcotics and operations divisions with K-9 services.
:*Traffic Enforcement
:Enforces traffic laws.
:*Honor Guard
:Represents public safety at parades, funerals and memorials.
:*Special Weapons and Tactics
:High risk situations
:*Community Public Safety
:Addresses Neighborhood issues.
:*Explorers
:Composed of people aged 14-21 interested in a law enforcement career.
:*Bomb Squad
:Disposes of explosive ordnance.
:*Training
:Training of Public Safety staff
Recruiting:
Recruits officer's for Public Safety
Casualties
On April 18, 2011, while responding to a shots fired call in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood, PSO Eric Zapata was fatally shot. Officer Zapata was the first officer in Kalamazoo to be killed in the line of duty. A funeral was held in his honor on April 26, 2011 at Miller Auditorium. Thousands of people, some from around the United States showed up to pay their final respects.

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