DEARBORN HEIGHTS – A veteran law enforcer whose career spans more than a quarter century is going to lead the Dearborn Heights Police Department while its chief is on medical leave.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi announced the appointment of Dearborn Heights Police Department Operations Director Kevin Swope to the role of interim chief on Monday. Swope will fill in during the absence of Chief Jerrod Hart, who is currently on medical leave.

“I’m confident Director Swope will do an excellent job in his role as interim chief,” Bazzi said. “He came to us a year ago with an outstanding resume of professional and academic accomplishments, and in that year he has proven himself as an effective and valued member of our law enforcement leadership team.”

Swope, a 26-year veteran of the law enforcement profession, joined the Dearborn Heights Police Department in January 2023 as the Department’s director of police operations. In this role, he was responsible for all operational aspects of the department.

Prior to joining the DHPD, Swope spent a 6-year stint with the Detroit Police Department.

Following his service in Detroit, he joined the Westland Police Department where he served in several leadership, command and management positions relating to many areas of department operations, a press release from Dearborn Heights confirmed.

Swope also served as a negotiator for the Western Wayne County Crisis Team and on the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. He is a 2017 graduate of the Eastern Michigan University Police Staff and Command program, as well as a 2022 graduate of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) Police Executives and New Chiefs’ School.

“We wish Chief Hart the best, and wish him a speedy recovery,” Bazzi said. “But in the meantime, the Dearborn Heights Police Department is in solid, capable hands in Chief Swope.”