Brunswick Police Chief Brian Ohlin to retire Feb. 23

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BRUNSWICK, Ohio — After more than 30 years in law enforcement, Brunswick Police Chief Brian Ohlin has announced his retirement effective Feb. 23.

Interim Chief Robert Safran has assumed the duties of chief since November. As a man who points to his efforts to enhance transparency and community policing as the pinnacle of his tenure in Brunswick, Ohlin said his last official call was fitting – passing out candy to children during the city’s Trick-or-Treat Oct. 31.

Ohlin, 56, began his law enforcement career in 1990 while attending college at Miami University and was hired by the Centerville Police Department one year later. The Northeast Ohio native was hired by the Brunswick Division of Police four years later, where he rose through the ranks from patrol officer, to shift sergeant, traffic sergeant and lieutenant.

Ohlin was named chief in 2017, on the cusp of an era when police departments nationwide were facing unprecedented public relations challenges

“I always looked for and enjoyed the opportunity to make our jobs as police officers better and more effective,” Ohlin said. “[Things like] getting video involved in everyday work – with bodycams and in our cars.”

Ohlin was able to secure a $50,000 federal grant in 2019 to spearhead this effort, which was expanded in 2021.

“That is important for the profession in the fact that is creates more transparency about what we do and it also enhances cases and helps the perseveration of cases,” he said. “But I’d like to stress that video caught on a body cam or dash cam is a limited perspective.”

Ohlin also pointed to his involvement in the formation of the Medina County OVI Task force as a highlight of his career with the Brunswick PD. The task force was formed in 2008 by Brunswick, Medina, Wadsworth, Montville, Medina Township, Brunswick Hills Township, Spencer, Westfield Center, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol to address alcohol-related crashes in the county.

“[The task force] is a really good example of collaboration,” Ohlin said. “That has always been important and it’s extremely important in this day and age.”

He said he feels he has had a successful career and 34 years seemed like a good point to retire.

“I do plan to do something else, but I haven’t figured that out,” Ohlin said. “I feel really good about where the department stands and I feel I left the department in a good place. We have got a lot of good, talent people.”

Safran echoed those sentiments.

“The Brunswick Police Department is an outstanding agency made up of talented men and women with a commitment to serve the public,” Safran said.

He also pledged to continue Ohlin’s commitment to transparency and accountability to the public.

“The important thing is to be individually accountable and to be accountable as an agency,” Safran said.

Read more news from the Brunswick Sun.

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