Officials Praise Former Plymouth Chief Headed to Town Made Famous in Trayvon Martin Case

Former Plymouth police chief Richard Myers — the town made famous after the fatal February shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — and those who worked with Myers locally say he is the right man for the job.

“He’s an agent of change,” said Plymouth City Manager Paul Sincock, who worked with Myers during his six-year tenure in the city from 1985-1991.

Sincock said Myers was brought in after an analysis by consulting firm Bartell & Bartell, LTD. recommended a number of changes in the city’s police department, including hiring Myers as chief of police to replace Ralph White.

One of the projects Sincock said Myers resolved during his time in Plymouth was cracking down on daily instances of “cruising” along downtown streets by young drivers in the late 1980s, which brought traffic on main roads to a halt.

Sincock said Myers was young at the time, and showed plenty of potential.

“He was a good chief,” Sincock said. “He definitely was going to be going on to bigger and better things.”

Myers will be helming an embattled Sanford, FL police department that drew national criticism for not immediately arresting George Zimmerman, the man charged with killing Martin.  Myers’ predecessor, Bill Lee, left his post as chief in March amid the controversy surrounding the case.

In a statement released by the city of Sanford, 57-year-old Myers said: "I intend on being an active leader, and there will be nothing interim about the need to move quickly to better understand the issues that the department and the community are facing."

Sincock said Myers, who served as a commissioner of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement while working in Colorado Springs, CO, can help return credibility to the Sanford department.

“It’s a situation where (the Sanford department) needed some kind of stabilizing force in there, or at least some short-term guidance,” Sincock said.

Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett praised Myers' hiring, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

"He is highly credentialed," Triplett told the newspaper.

Myers left Plymouth in 1991 for Lisle, IL, a Chicago suburb, then worked in Appleton, WI, until 2007, when he became chief in Colorado Springs, CO, where he worked until taking the Sanford job. He previously worked as deputy Oakland County Sheriff, county medical examiner investigator and an Auburn Hills police officer before working in Plymouth, according to his public profile on LinkedIn. He is a graduate of and attended school at and Michigan State University.

Robert Scoggins took over as chief in Plymouth when Myers left for Illinois.

Sincock said community involvement is a strength Myers can take with him to Sanford. He said Myers was an active member of the Rotary Club in Plymouth during his tenure as Plymouth’s chief, and was very involved in the community.

Former Michigan Rep. John Stewart, a lawyer in Plymouth, also praised Myers’ experience in Plymouth in a comment on Patch.

“(Myers) is a consummate professional,” Stewart wrote. He said he was a practicing attorney at the beginning of his law practice in Plymouth during Myers’ tenure. Stewart said he was present when Myers was indicted into the Criminal Justice Wall of Fame at his alma mater, Michigan State University, in October 2009.

Sincock said he feels Myers is prepared to take on his new duty.

“Certainly this will be a big challenge for him,” he said. “Our hopes and prayers are with him.”