LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Captain, now Colonel, James F. Grady II has been selected by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be the new State Police Director, replacing recently retired Colonel Joe Gasper, who announced his retirement mid-July and retired effective on Thursday. Grady was promoted to colonel from captain on the same day and brings to the new job 25 years of experience in public safety.

Grady called the appointment an “incredible honor” on Thursday and said in a statement, “We will continue to make sure that the men and women of MSP have what they need to do their job of protecting Michiganders in communities across the state. It’s a tough but rewarding career. I will work every day to earn the trust and respect of my colleagues and the good people of Michigan.”

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Grady has had almost a decade of leadership within the Michigan State Police (MSP) and has been managing the Training Division which conducts MSP recruit schools for new enforcement members and in-service trainings for current members. Grady has trained 391 troopers and 21 motor carrier graduates.

Grady had said during the renovation of the training facility last year, “We are constantly assessing how to enhance, improve and modernize training for our members and policing partners while and also remaining competitive in today’s employment environment.”

When talking about the training itself, Grady told Fox 2 Detroit, “If you think you can…you will. If you think you can’t… you’re right” and said the training school is where “a trooper is built” pointing to the rigorous 20-week exercise regimen that the troopers go through. In addition to that, Grady said, “We cover implicit bias, de-escalation training, we do a lot of patrols training, a lot of reality-based scenario training.”

He told WWMT that the training last year was focused on diversity. He said, “Diversity means a lot of things. Race, cultural background, ethnicity, gender, and gender identity, those things play a huge role and are all equally important. People from different parts of the state, different cultural backgrounds, different races, and ethnicities – that’s something that we want to present to the recruits because they will come across that throughout their career as a law enforcement officer with MSP.”

Grady will be the third Black director to lead the MSP, preceded by two Colonels who were under former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

A resident of Wayne County, Grady has a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and criminology from Eastern Michigan University and is currently working toward a Master of Business Administration from Cleary University with expected completion in 2025.

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1998, Grady joined MSP as a trooper, serving in the Adrian and Detroit posts. He worked his way up to detective and supervisor within his local posts.

In 2015, he became detective first lieutenant and section commander of the “Fraud Investigation” team within MSP. There, he was responsible for the coordination of investigations both internally and externally to protect Michiganders from fraud.

In 2018, Grady was promoted to assistant division commander within the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, making him responsible for day-to-day management of all programs and activities within the division and oversight for all five division sections. In this role, he also served as a liaison to the governor’s office, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Homeland Security. In 2020, he was promoted to captain and became commander of the Training Division of MSP.

Gov. Whitmer said about Grady in a statement, “After 25 years, he has earned the respect of troopers across the department and community leaders throughout the state, including in southeast Michigan where he spent the majority of his service. He has a knack for bringing everyone together to solve problems, and our state is a better place for it. He will do a great job leading our state’s top law enforcement agency.”

Retired MSP Director, Kriste Etue, the first and only woman to be Colonel of MPS, and current Director of External Affairs with the Transportation Improvement Association, said about the choice, “Being selected as the Colonel of the Michigan State is not only a huge responsibility but a great honor. Law enforcement today is a noble calling that has many challenges to deal with. I wish Col. Grady the very best in his new leadership role.”

The appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.