Flint Police Chief Tim Johnson will soon be certified to be a police officer.
Johnson was appointed Flint’s new police chief back in February. But the career cop allowed his state certification to lapse after he retired several years ago.
Without that certification, Johnson lacked the arresting powers of officers under his command.
Johnson says he was planning to take the two-day class later this year.
“I was trying to wait for the city to reach a calm level where I could go away for a couple of days to get re-certified,” Johnson told reporters today.
Johnson now plans to undergo the training next month.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver says the lack of certification has not prevented Johnson from doing his job as police chief. She notes crime stats are down since Johnson took over.
Weaver complains the news media have spent too much time focusing on “negative” stories, like Johnson’s certification.
“These kinds of stories don’t help the city of Flint,” Weaver told reporters. “It makes people think that our city isn’t safe.”
