ROBERT W. MENDHAM
(Nominated by Brian Mendham)
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
July 10, 2011
My Dad is a hero to me and to many other people in Michigan. My Dad started a career in law enforcement in 1976, working at the City of Troy and City of Pontiac police departments. In 1978, my Dad joined the state police. He served all over the state, and was promoted to Detective Trooper in 1985. He worked undercover for three years with a drug enforcement team in Detroit. He was then promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the Upper Peninsula. In 1994 he was promoted to Detective Sergeant, and transferred to Grand Rapids and then Lansing to serve at Headquarters. While my Dad was a Detective Sergeant, he earned his Juris Doctor law degree by going to law school part-time in the evenings. He was also a defensive tactics instructor, teaching other police officers how to defend themselves, he also taught legal classes at the state police academy. In 1999, my Dad had an accident that seriously injured his back. He was forced to accept a disability retirement which ended his 26 year career in law enforcement, but he did not stop serving our community. My Dad was then appointed Chief Assistant rosecuting Attorney in a northern Michigan county, and served as a prosecutor in three different counties before retiring ten years later. My Dad spent his entire life serving the citizens of Michigan and he is truly a Service Hero.
