EAST LANSING, Mich. – East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas has announced that Deputy Chief Jeff Murphy will serve as the interim chief of the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) following the retirement of ELPD Chief Juli Liebler at the end of June.
During the interim period, the city manager will be assessing internal leadership of the department. Looking back at the recent history of ELPD’s leadership, the last three police chiefs have been internal candidates. City officials do not anticipate conducting a search for ELPD’s new chief at this point.
“We have a long tradition of promoting within,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “We believe, by doing so, we end up with good quality employees who have the skills, experience and background to be extremely successful in their careers with the City of East Lansing.”
Deputy Chief Jeff Murphy has served with ELPD since February 1987. His hard work and professionalism has led to many promotions and new leadership responsibilities over the years. He has served as a supervisor of the ELPD night shift patrol, accident team, Conflict Management Team, East Lansing Jail, Special Response Team (SRT), Crime Scene Investigation unit, ELPD Detective Bureau and ELPD K9 Unit. He was promoted to sergeant in September 1998, lieutenant in June 2011 (at which time he also became an SRT commander) and captain in July 2012. Earlier this year, Murphy was promoted to his current position as deputy chief.
“Deputy Chief Murphy has a great deal of supervisory experience within the department and we have utmost confidence in his ability to serve as the interim chief of ELPD,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “Deputy Chief Murphy has proven to be a highly-skilled professional within the organization and has earned the respect of those who have worked alongside him.”
Deputy Chief Murphy will begin his role as ELPD’s interim chief on July 1, 2015.