Community relations key for new MPD chief
Kinney reinstating canine unit, social media
Ed Kinney, a Medina Police officer since 1997, has been named the department’s new police chief, effective Oct. 25. Photo by KEVIN MCMANUS
MEDINA – The last thing new Medina Police Chief Ed Kinney wants to be is tied to his desk.
“My favorite aspect of being a police officer is being out in the streets and communicating with people,” he said. “That’s what I intend on doing as a chief, as well, being out, away from the building and talking with people.”
Kinney, 43, is the Medina Police Department’s new chief. Mayor Dennis Hanwell appointed Kinney Oct. 25 after months of testing and interviewing within the department. No outside candidates were sought.
Right out of the gate, Kinney has two big goals: re-establish the department’s footprint in the community and beef up narcotics enforcement.
“That will happen with community-oriented police initiatives I have,” Kinney said of increasing outreach. “I’d like to concentrate on some of our apartment housing here in Medina, as well as increase some of the other outreach programs we have like the (Medina County) Police Activities League and our school resource officers.”
Kinney has also brought back MPD’s social media presence by reactivating its Facebook account, which has over 11,000 followers. Among his first actions as chief was establishing a terms of use policy for both MPD personnel and the public. The previous chief, Pat Berarducci, had done away with the department’s Facebook usage during his tenure.
“It’s important to me just for the communication value of it,” Kinney said. “With the typing of a keyboard, I can communicate with those folks. I can blast out road closures, accidents, if there’s a situation going on in a particular area that would require the residents or anyone in the city to know about ... it’s an invaluable tool. We’ve used it multiple times to post pictures of suspects. For years, we were able to clean up cases by using Facebook.”
On his second goal, narcotics enforcement, Kinney is reinstating MPD’s canine unit, which was also axed under Berarducci. Previously, MPD would have to call Montville Township Police or the Medina County Sheriff’s Office for use of their respective canine units during traffic stops possibly involving narcotics, but that became problematic, Kinney said.
“Recent court decisions made partnering with Montville and the sheriff’s department difficult for us because it restricted the time limits that we could delay someone on a traffic stop. Essentially, you cannot, without any other extenuating circumstances, delay somebody on a traffic stop longer than it takes to write a ticket,” Kinney said, adding an MPD canine could be on scene anywhere in the city within a few minutes. “The canine unit is also a great public relations tool ... and for officer protection.”
The canine unit is expected to be operational again during the first quarter of 2018. Kinney acknowledged the canine unit will help in the fight against local trafficking, bluntly saying, “We’re in the midst of a heroin epidemic right now.”
Kinney takes over for Lt. Dave Birckbichler, who had been acting-chief since November 2016 after Berarrducci took medical leave and eventually retired last June. Berarducci had been at the post since 2009.
Birckbichler was publicly thanked by the mayor and several city councilmen during their last meeting Oct. 23, with Ward 3 Councilman Mark Kolesar expressing disappointment Birckbichler did not make the top three as the selection process wrapped up.
Kinney was hired by former Chief Hanwell as a night patrolman in 1997 and has since spent most of his Medina career as a detective (he was promoted to sergeant in 2011) focused on narcotics. He is also a team leader for the Medina County Drug Task Force, a collaborative police agency focused on dismantling local drug trafficking, cultivation, manufacturing and networking.
Kinney, who was born in Detroit, began his law enforcement career in 1995 with the Lisbon Police Department in Columbiana County in eastern Ohio. He was with Lisbon for just under two years, having graduated from the nearby Salem Police Department’s academy, also in Columbiana County. Prior to that, he was a paramedic and a systems administrator with the county courts, both in Columbiana.
The new chief is also a graduate of the Public Safety Leadership Academy, an 11-week course offered by the Ohio Department of Public Safety to potential law enforcement commanders. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.
“It is an honor to be selected as the chief of police and I thank Mayor Hanwell for this opportunity and his confidence,” Kinney said. “The Medina Police Department is committed to the community-oriented policing philosophy and that tradition of service and professionalism will continue under my leadership.”
Kinney assumed chief duties the day of his appointment; however, his pay will remain at the sergeant level once Medina City Council votes to confirm Hanwell’s appointment.
Hanwell is requesting council approve Kinney be paid retroactively for his chief work pre-confirmation. Council is expected to confirm Kinney when it next meets Monday, Nov. 13.
The chief’s salary starts at $94,151, which includes the city picking up 10 percent pension contributions.
Kinney and his wife, Sandy, have been married 11 years. They reside in nearby Montville with their two dogs.
“My favorite aspect of being a police officer is being out in the streets and communicating with people,” he said. “That’s what I intend on doing as a chief, as well, being out, away from the building and talking with people.”
Kinney, 43, is the Medina Police Department’s new chief. Mayor Dennis Hanwell appointed Kinney Oct. 25 after months of testing and interviewing within the department. No outside candidates were sought.
Right out of the gate, Kinney has two big goals: re-establish the department’s footprint in the community and beef up narcotics enforcement.
“That will happen with community-oriented police initiatives I have,” Kinney said of increasing outreach. “I’d like to concentrate on some of our apartment housing here in Medina, as well as increase some of the other outreach programs we have like the (Medina County) Police Activities League and our school resource officers.”
Kinney has also brought back MPD’s social media presence by reactivating its Facebook account, which has over 11,000 followers. Among his first actions as chief was establishing a terms of use policy for both MPD personnel and the public. The previous chief, Pat Berarducci, had done away with the department’s Facebook usage during his tenure.
“It’s important to me just for the communication value of it,” Kinney said. “With the typing of a keyboard, I can communicate with those folks. I can blast out road closures, accidents, if there’s a situation going on in a particular area that would require the residents or anyone in the city to know about ... it’s an invaluable tool. We’ve used it multiple times to post pictures of suspects. For years, we were able to clean up cases by using Facebook.”
On his second goal, narcotics enforcement, Kinney is reinstating MPD’s canine unit, which was also axed under Berarducci. Previously, MPD would have to call Montville Township Police or the Medina County Sheriff’s Office for use of their respective canine units during traffic stops possibly involving narcotics, but that became problematic, Kinney said.
“Recent court decisions made partnering with Montville and the sheriff’s department difficult for us because it restricted the time limits that we could delay someone on a traffic stop. Essentially, you cannot, without any other extenuating circumstances, delay somebody on a traffic stop longer than it takes to write a ticket,” Kinney said, adding an MPD canine could be on scene anywhere in the city within a few minutes. “The canine unit is also a great public relations tool ... and for officer protection.”
The canine unit is expected to be operational again during the first quarter of 2018. Kinney acknowledged the canine unit will help in the fight against local trafficking, bluntly saying, “We’re in the midst of a heroin epidemic right now.”
Kinney takes over for Lt. Dave Birckbichler, who had been acting-chief since November 2016 after Berarrducci took medical leave and eventually retired last June. Berarducci had been at the post since 2009.
Birckbichler was publicly thanked by the mayor and several city councilmen during their last meeting Oct. 23, with Ward 3 Councilman Mark Kolesar expressing disappointment Birckbichler did not make the top three as the selection process wrapped up.
Kinney was hired by former Chief Hanwell as a night patrolman in 1997 and has since spent most of his Medina career as a detective (he was promoted to sergeant in 2011) focused on narcotics. He is also a team leader for the Medina County Drug Task Force, a collaborative police agency focused on dismantling local drug trafficking, cultivation, manufacturing and networking.
Kinney, who was born in Detroit, began his law enforcement career in 1995 with the Lisbon Police Department in Columbiana County in eastern Ohio. He was with Lisbon for just under two years, having graduated from the nearby Salem Police Department’s academy, also in Columbiana County. Prior to that, he was a paramedic and a systems administrator with the county courts, both in Columbiana.
The new chief is also a graduate of the Public Safety Leadership Academy, an 11-week course offered by the Ohio Department of Public Safety to potential law enforcement commanders. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.
“It is an honor to be selected as the chief of police and I thank Mayor Hanwell for this opportunity and his confidence,” Kinney said. “The Medina Police Department is committed to the community-oriented policing philosophy and that tradition of service and professionalism will continue under my leadership.”
Kinney assumed chief duties the day of his appointment; however, his pay will remain at the sergeant level once Medina City Council votes to confirm Hanwell’s appointment.
Hanwell is requesting council approve Kinney be paid retroactively for his chief work pre-confirmation. Council is expected to confirm Kinney when it next meets Monday, Nov. 13.
The chief’s salary starts at $94,151, which includes the city picking up 10 percent pension contributions.
Kinney and his wife, Sandy, have been married 11 years. They reside in nearby Montville with their two dogs.