First Lieutenant Joe Shier outside the St. Ignace Michigan State Police post, where he is the new commander. When he was a rookie Michigan State Police trooper in 1990, Joe Shier set a 20-year goal of becoming a post commander. Beginning his career at the Owosso post, he never fathomed his goal would be right on target.

Exactly two decades later, First Lieutenant Shier was named the new post commander at St. Ignace in April. During his 20-year journey, he was exposed to almost every aspect of law enforcement, he said, which prepared him for the leadership role. He came to the St. Ignace post after working for the Sault Ste. Marie post as a detective sergeant.

“I always felt like you should work the hardest at the job you're doing, taking on any task that’s asked of you,” said Lt. Shier, who lives with his wife, Karen, and 14-year-old daughter, Courtney, in Sault Ste. Marie.

“I’ve taken on additional duties within the department, such as evidence technician, field training officer, and fire arms instructor, that provided me the opportunity to prove myself at a higher level, and assisted me in getting this job.”

Lt. Shier, 45, grew up in Rockford and was graduated from Lake Superior State University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. His first assignment at Owosso gave him the opportunity to investigate crimes from start to finish, he said.

Frequently working the night shift, he honed his investigative skills by solving cases involving breaking and entering, domestic violence, and sexual assault. He also attended evidence technology school, which readied him to become a detective sergeant.

“Being in a larger area down there, you have a lot more exposure to different types of crimes that you would be responsible for investigating,” he said. “For a lot of the property crimes, the troopers would ask me to come and collect evidence, so that gave me experience in that area.”

Lt. Shier was assigned to the Sault Ste. Marie Post as detective sergeant in 1996, spending the majority of his time working at Kinross Correctional Facility investigating prison cases involving smuggled weapons, drugs, assaultive behavior, and stabbings.

He also investigated several homicide cases with his partner, Detective Sergeant William Smith, who he worked with for 11 years. Most notably, he helped solve a high-profile case involving the murder of a Kinross woman in 2003.

“The woman’s boyfriend was the primary suspect, and through our collection of evidence we were able to build a case on him.”

After investigating multiple crime scenes and conducting dozens of interviews, the two detectives eventually secured sufficient evidence to convict the suspect, who is now serving time in prison, Mr. Shier said.

“We needed all of the right evidence to successfully prosecute and convict the guy,” he said. “You have to follow your evidence, and if that leads you back to the same suspect, then you know you had a successful investigation.

“We tend to sometimes get fragmented, and go off in different directions and specialized areas. Service to the public is going to be our primary goal, and that?fs providing service for investigative work and traffic enforcement,” he said.

The number of fatalities owing to auto accidents is decreasing in Michigan every year, he said, which is an indication, among other factors involved in the trend, that the state police is doing its job well.

“We'd like to be able to continue to cut into those numbers,” he said, “continuing to concentrate on targeting the behavior that's going to cause death, like speeding, drunk driving, reckless driving, and driving without a seatbelt. All of those are major causing factors in traffic crash deaths.”

The post commander's job is to be involved in all aspects of the law enforcement community, he added, noting that collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in the county plays a pivotal role.

“A lot of areas in the U.P., especially in large counties, you have large areas you have to cover and limited resources,” he said. “You could have cars on the opposite sides of the county. So you really need to rely on these other agencies for assistance for major events, or even minor incidents, like with an armed gunman. You want to be able to draw from all your available resources.”

Outside of work, Lt. Shier is a Red Wings hockey fan who plays recreational hockey year-around, as well as softball, co-ed volleyball, golf, and salmon fishing. His family enjoys boating during the summer, and skiing during the winter.

Including Lt. Shier, 18 employees now work at the St. Ignace post: three motor carrier officers, four uniformed sergeants, and 11 troopers. Sergeant Mark Tamlyn joined the staff last week, transferring from the Cheboygan post where he served as a trooper, and Sergeant Lorne Hartwig, also from the Cheboygan post, will be transferring to St. Ignace this month.

Detective Sergeant Robin Sexton, Sergeant Ken Laninga, and Sergeant Dale Garrow, all stationed at St. Ignace, retired Monday, May 31, after each had served more than 30 years with the Michigan State Police.