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Obituary

Chief Ronald F. Deziel age 75, of Gibraltar, formerly of Trenton, Dearborn, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario died at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital on June 16, 2023 due to complications from Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Born to Beatrice (Fraser) and David Deziel of Windsor, Ontario, Canada on August 11, 1947 at Harper Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.

Ron spent his formative years in Windsor, Ontario attending Walkerville Collegiate and Assumption High school. Upon graduation, Ron enrolled in a six-year combined degree program offered by Detroit College of Law. When not in the classroom he worked as a law clerk for the Detroit litigation firm of Davies, Rudzki and Zeder. He commuted daily between Windsor and Detroit. Following his first year of law school, Ron married his high school sweetheart, Linda (Piper). In 1972, the young couple moved to Michigan to satisfy State Bar residency requirements. Deziel earned two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Law and a Juris Doctor and was admitted to the bar in 1973. Looking to apply his legal talents to a career in public service, Ron accepted a position with the City of Dearborn as assistant Prosecutor. In 1978 Ron was appointed Deputy City Attorney wherein he was responsible for providing legal counsel to numerous departments, commissions, committees and the City Counsel. In addition, Ron was tasked with creating a municipal self- insurance program including funding, risk management assessments and training with a special emphasis on the police department which had experienced a spate of wrongful death and excessive force litigation as well as a reputation for racism and brutality. In this position, Ron was responsible for administering the program and defending all litigation against the city. He also taught classes in police procedures at the Wayne County Police Academy.  Ron also played a lead role in defending the city against the ACLU in the infamous federal "nativity scene" case. In 1985, A new administration appointed Deziel as Chief of the Dearborn Police Department with a directive to transition the department to a first-class law enforcement agency. Deziel took on the challenge with vigor spending countless hours in scout cars, roll calls and staff meetings. His accomplishments were numerous and in some cases groundbreaking. The departmental rules, regulations, training, protocols and hiring standards were rewritten, consortium's and mutual aid packs were entered into with other agencies and new divisions were created within the department. A strong relationship was developed with the officer, supervisory and civilian unions with the common goal of maintaining the highest level of professionalism within the department. Under Deziel's leadership, the Dearborn Police Department became the first Michigan municipal police agency to construct and equip a full scale in- house crime lab along with the acquisition of an AFIS system, plus local, state and federal connected computer terminals and video cameras in all patrol vehides. Making diversity within the department a top priority, Deziel hired qualified female, African American and Arab American officers and initiated mandatory diversity training. Community policing initiatives were advanced, a DARE program established in every school in the city and neighborhood meetings were held on a regular basis. Two satellite police stations were established, one in the "south end" and another in the Fairlane Town Center to better serve those particular areas.

During Deziel's tenure, the police headquarters building was completely remodeled and expanded to indude a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range, additional detention cells, an elevator and additional space for computer operations as well as meeting rooms and vehicle maintenance garage. While the department continued on its move towards excellence, a few incidents tested the training and professionalism of the department and its leaders. On May 6, 1993, a disgruntled U.S. postal worker entered the Greenfield Avenue post office and opened fire killing 2 fellow employees, himself and critically wounding one other. The term "going postal" originated as a result of this active shooter incident. Deziel earned praise for the manner in which he handled the local and national media at the scene of the shooting and he later developed a training program for police chiefs on the art of media relations. His program has been utilized by countless departments around the country. On February 1, 1999, the Ford Rouge power plant exploded killing 2 employees and injuring at least seventeen others.

On August 16, 1987, Dearborn special units created by Deziel participated in the aftermath of the crash of Northwest Flight 255 killing 154 people. On July 21, 1989, a personal tragedy struck the Chief when his wife, Linda died of breast cancer at age 38. Six years later, Deziel would marry Luanne (Allgood) who most capably assumed the role of wife, partner and mother to Deziel's two young children, David and Christine.

Deziel became a noted expert in modern law enforcement and was sought out for speaking and training engagements. Among the many leadership roles Deziel held included: President, Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police President, Wayne County Association of Chiefs of Police President, Southeastern Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Board, International Association of Chiefs of Police. President, Western Wayne County Mutual Aid Association Co-Founder, Wayne County Police and Community Race Relations Consortium President, Dearborn Bar Association, Municipal Law Section Head, Michigan State Bar Association Recipient, and Michigan Chiefs of Police Presidential Medal of Honor.

Upon his retirement from the City of Dearborn, Deziel ran a hard fought but unsuccessful mayoral campaign following which he served as a consultant and expert witness in numerous police related cases. In addition, he served nine years as general counsel and chief of security for a major money and securities transfer company. Following his second retirement, Deziel took on the challenge of restoring a historic 95-year-old home and enjoyed traveling with his wife and hosting family gatherings.

Predeceased: David A. Deziel, father.

Survived by: Beatrice Deziel, mother

                   Luanne   M. Deziel, wife

                   Christine D. LaPointe (Keith), daughter

                   David J. Deziel (Sara), son

                   Ellery LaPointe and Breelyn LaPointe, granddaughters

                   London   P. Deziel, grandson

                   Lisa Deziel, sister

                   Barbara Jorgensen (Povl) sister

                   Paul Deziel (Ann) and Peter Deziel (Kiki), brothers

Pursuant to Ron's wishes, no formal gatherings or services will be held. Cremation has taken place.