Crescent-News.com - Tim Tobias - New Defiance police chief surpasses his career goal

By TODD HELBERG
cnedit@crescent-news.com
New Defiance Police Chief Tim Tobias may have reached the pinnacle of his law enforcement career, but he might stay there awhile.
At 45, Tobias isn't the city's youngest chief " his predecessor Norm Walker, for example, was 39 when he took over the top spot in 1993 " but he's got plenty of enthusiasm and energy to have a lengthy reign.
Tobias was sworn in as chief on April 29, just 11 days after Walker served as Defiance's top cop for nearly 15 years. In those years, Tobias was Walker's assistant and was the odds-on favorite this spring to win the job when Walker announced his retirement.
Indeed, Tobias was selected from among three candidates following civil service testing on April 18. But it was never really his goal when he joined the city police department in 1984 as a 22-year-old patrolman.
"When I first started, I was really young," recalled Tobias. "I always thought it would be great to be promoted one time and to be a sergeant. I thought that was probably my goal and that's probably as far as I thought I would ever go. And, then with the way things happened I just ended up here."
Ending up as police chief probably has brought Tobias to the point where his law enforcement career will conclude. He expresses no interest working in law enforcement elsewhere, and even turned down two offers to become a police chief in recent years " one in Waterville, the other in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming.
One reason: He likes Defiance.
"I'd say I am definitely settled," said Tobias. "There's really nothing about Defiance I don't like. Defiance definitely grows on you. You've raised your family here and this is home, so I don't really see myself going anywhere. I had options when I was the assistant chief and I turned them down. If I turned down Waterville, I knew I was going to stay here, that I wasn't even going to explore anywhere else because it seemed silly to keep looking and then not go anywhere. So, when I turned that down I knew I was going to stay here for my career."
Although he could retire in approximately 28 months at age 48 " because he would meet the minimum retirement age and have the required 25 years of service " Tobias says he's in for a longer haul than that. But he concedes that these things are hard to predict.
"I don't dread getting up and coming in the morning," he said. "I still enjoy coming here. As long as that continues, I can see myself staying. I don't see it being a quick turnover. I think there should be some stability here. If I knew I was going to be leaving in two years, I don't think I would have accepted the position. It doesn't make sense to go through that whole promotional thing and put somebody in here and then a year-and-a half later up and leave."
Like Walker, Tobias has had a stable career that certainly would draw envy from any law enforcement officer dreaming of a rise to the top from humble beginnings.
When Tobias joined the city force in December 1984, he was 22, having graduated from Defiance College with a degree in criminal justice. He obtained that initial goal " earning his sergeant stripes " in 1990.
But rather than stopping there, his career took an unexpected turn up the promotional ladder.
Tobias had taken civil service testing for the assistant police chief's job when it opened in 1991, but finished third. Walker scored highest and was promoted to police chief while Robert Gutman took second.
Gutman then became the assistant police chief, but was dismissed for disciplinary reasons. Because the civil service testing remained valid for two years, Tobias was offered the assistant's job and accepted. He took the position in October 1993.
Since his early days with the department, Tobias has seen the community change along with police procedures and personnel. In fact, only two officers remain from the force when Tobias first joined.
That makes him part of the old guard, but not very old in a department which has a fairly youthful look. Only one officer is over 50, and all the others are 45 or younger.
Tobias believes this positions his department well, and he has nothing but praise for his men.
"I don't know that I would have wanted to be the chief if I didn't think it was a really good department," he said. "I'm really happy with the makeup of the department right now. We have a really good group and a good mix of military guys and college (graduates). The different things that they bring together, I think, is really good."
As one of the department's most tenured officers, Tobias has witnessed a lot of officers come and go.
"You look back and all the guys that used to be here, you miss them," he said. "When they're here, you kind of take it for granted " who they are and what they did."
One of them is Walker, who Tobias says will be a difficult act to follow, but accomplishing that may be a goal of sorts.
"I think he did a great job," said Tobias. "He's a tough act to follow. I think he was always fair and consistent. If I can do what he did, I think that would be great."
Too, his 23 1/2 years with the department has allowed Tobias to see many changes in policing methods. He says technological methods have made the job more sophisticated.
"We had manual typewriters when I started here, then electric typewriters and then computers," he explained. "We have updated radar units, we have video cameras in the cars, we have laptop computers in the cars. So, as far as technology goes, it's been a lot of leaps and bounds ... ."
But, he believes the job has become more stressful as complaints and calls for service have continued to increase.
"I think the job has definitely become more stressful since I started, not for me personally, but for the guys who work the road," he said. "When I first started, I would handle, say, five complaints a night, and you had time to work them real thoroughly and take your time on them. Now some of these guys are doing a dozen or 15 a night. It's hard to take your time on them and pour yourself into them like you'd like to. We have to evaluate sometimes whether this (complaint) is solvable or is not solvable and whether we should move on to the next one. We used to not have to do that."
So where does the department go from here?
Tobias doesn't mention any specific plans, although he would like to see city leaders include his department in the new municipal court building that is being planned.
"I really would because we do court security for them, plus with the people coming from CCNO and taking them to and from court," he observed. "I just think it would be nice if we were close to the court."
As for personnel, Tobias says that even though each officer is handling more complaints than when he started in 1984, the department is holding its own on manpower. The department is allotted 30 officers and has 28 in service now, with another in training and one serving a military stint.
So, he has no plans to request more when this year's budgetary process begins in August or September. Still, he believes this will eventually be necessary because of anticipated growth.
"I think the city is going to grow," he said. "When (the U.S. 24 widening project) is completed we are going to have more business. As we grow in land space, I think that our services have to grow, and I'm not just talking about the police department. I think every (city) department probably has to grow if we are going to maintain what we have and then add."
Although Tobias' still has much enthusiasm for his profession, it's not his No. 1 passion. He says that is reserved for family activities, such as attending his kids' functions.
Daughter Lindsay, 17, is a junior at Defiance High School, and son Jordan, 13, is a seventh-grader at Defiance Junior High. Both are very active in sports and band.
"The thing that gives me my most enjoyment is my kids' activities," Tobias said. "If I know I have something going on involving my kids, that just makes my day. I'm just so pleased with my kids and proud of them. I don't miss anything that they do."