Jerry Cooley, son of a Korean War Disabled Veteran has been in law enforcement for more than 25 years and has been a security consultant for more than 12 years. After pursuing a business degree at Lansing Community College and Central Michigan University, Mr. Cooley entered the 102nd Michigan State Police Academy in 1987. Mr. Cooley began his career with the Michigan State Police with his first assignment at the Ypsilanti State Police Post. During his time on the road, he encountered a hijacker at Kalitta Air who had hijacked an airplane at knifepoint and wanted to be flown to see the President of the United States. Mr. Cooley stopped the high jacking in progress by pulling his patrol car in front of the taxiing airplane and entering the then stopped aircraft. Mr. Cooley took the suspect into custody. He received awards from the Michigan State Police and the Secret Service for his work.
Mr. Cooley spent five years on road patrol before moving to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). He worked on several criminal task forces while at CID – the Food Stamp Task Force, the State Police Surveillance Team (during which time he was promoted to Sergeant), the Fugitive Team, and the FBI Fugitive Task Force where he was promoted to team leader for one of the two fugitive teams. He transferred to the Livingston and Washtenaw County Narcotics Enforcement Team (LAWNET) where he remained for the rest of his law enforcement career. During his time at LAWNET, he was promoted to Detective Lieutenant and headed both the Major Case Team and the Narcotics Team.
After retiring from the Michigan State Police, he spent several years as a Security Consultant working for a Detroit-based security company where he handled several personal protection details for high-profile clients. He also spent more than five years traveling with the Detroit Tigers as the head of travel security for the team. This included screening the team players and coaches before flights on the team owned plane per FAA rules and regulations.
Throughout his law enforcement and security career, Mr. Cooley led many teams. His passion for a team environment and his pursuit of excellence, holding his teams to the highest integrity standards, fostered a great working environment and teamwork atmosphere.