2007 Honorary Member

Mansfield Police Chief, Philip Messer

Chief Phil was appointed Mansfield Police Chief in 2002 by Mayor Lydia Reid. The Division is responsible for policing more than 50,000 residents in 31 square miles with an annual budget of approximately $10 million dollars. Chief Messer promotes a single vision for consistent and effective policing through community partnerships by providing hands-on leadership to Division staff. He established early priorities emphasizing open communications with the community and expanding collaborations and partnerships to promote effective and efficient policing while increasing accountability.

Prior to his appointment, Chief Messer, a life-long Mansfield resident and former Marine, served 26 years in various assignments including Commander of the Special Operations Bureau and Director of the METRICH Enforcement Unit, which he helped form prior to his promotion. He remains Director of METRICH, a ten county multi-jurisdictional task force with ten offices. Chief Messer was the principle architect of the Division's Community Policing Plan and various youth initiatives working with a passionate team of personnel resulting in national notoriety and more than $7.5 million dollars in grants to the department. Phil is known has a "go to" guy for his ability to design, articulate and implement comprehensive strategies that reduce and prevent crime.

Chief Messer resides in Mansfield with his wife Debi, a Regional Director and Senior Vice President for Chase Bank, and their two sons, Phil Jr, a police officer for Mansfield and Adam, a pre-med student at Ohio State University in Columbus.

19