There’s a new police chief in the city of Olivet, not new to area

Joanne Williams
Editor

(Photo provided)

The City of Olivet has a new police chief who is anything but new to law enforcement or the area.

Johnny Lopez was sworn in as chief of police at the October City Council meeting. By his side was outgoing Chief Shawn Garcia, who is now police administrative officer for Olivet, a city of about 1,600 people, including The University of Olivet.

Both Garcia and Lopez have more than 19 years of service in law enforcement, each serving in a number of different capacities.

Lopez retired in 2022 after 19 years with the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. 

After a brief time in the Village of Bellevue, Garcia has been with the City of Olivet for 19 years. The two have known each other since about 2006, Garcia said.

“I am still a certified officer,” Garcia said of his new role at City Hall, which will include records and report duties. “I love it,” he said.

At a recent City Council meeting, Garcia reported that the chief’s training has “been going great,” and that they have both been learning a lot.

In his role as police commissioner, Olivet City Council Member Joseph Davis worked closely in the hiring of Lopez.

“He has a lot of experience with towns like us,” Davis said. “He knows the area, he knows Shawn Garcia, and he worked as a school resource officer.” That school resource officer role is fairly new to Olivet Schools and Davis sees Lopez as an important support for that position.

The search for police chief has been part of an ongoing effort to add personnel to the department, Davis said. Ideally, Olivet would like to add one more police officer to the roster. It has been a matter of being competitive in the tight law enforcement market. 

Lopez knows the ins and outs of the vocation. He has been a 911-operator, corrections officer, department member and then chief in Quincy, sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer all while retiring twice from the profession. “I’ve seen my share of a lot of things, culturally and socially,” he said.

Born in Texas, Lopez grew up in Traverse City. He knows what the job will entail here. “You are looked upon by the community as a leader,” Lopez said of the duties he will be performing. “It all boils down to the same thing, taking care of people.”

He knew a little about Olivet before signing on to the job. “I am used to small towns,” Lopez said, “Olivet has a lot of good, caring people. I felt it would be a good fit, otherwise I wouldn’t have applied.”

Lopez knows this firsthand. He recently lost an infant granddaughter to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). “My work family came together and gave me a lot of good support,” Lopez said.

The chief has two sons and two daughters all close by. His oldest daughter was in the U.S. Army and part of the military police. Lopez has eight grandchildren and one on the way.

People may recognize Lopez from a different stage as well. He is a musician and composer. Piano is his instrument of choice, and he has performed in the area.