Brighton’s new Police Chief, Brent Pirochta, was officially sworn in to the position at Thursday’s city council meeting.
Pirochta, a two-time Officer of the Year, obtained his degree in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University, where he also graduated from the police training academy. He was hired by the Brighton City Police Department in 2003 and over the years he has trained in multiple disciplines including Taser instructor, SWAT tactics and patrol instructor. He’s also a SWAT team operator, SWAT team sniper, and a SWAT team assistant commander. In 2017, Pirochta graduated from the MSU School of Staff and Command and went through the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, New Executives’ and Chiefs’ of Police School.
After his wife pinned on his chief’s badge, Pirochta took his oath of office and then addressed the audience.
“Thank you very much, to everybody in the room, to my family and law enforcement,” he said. “Everybody in here, has impacted me and made a difference and an influence in my life to be here. So thank you very much.”
Pirochta also thanked the man he succeeded, former Chief Rob Bradford, and the man who hired him, former Chief Mike Kinaschuk, who he noted had been sworn on that very day in 1988.
“Thank you for giving me the shot,” he said, and then turning to Bradford, added. “Thank you for passing the torch and what you’ve done for me. Most importantly, thank you to my wife and my kids.”
