Northville City Police Officer of 28 Years Retires

Police officer Anthony Tilger was just 20 years old when he began what became a lifelong career in law enforcement.

“I was so young I couldn’t go drinking with the boys,” he recalled.

As of last weekend, Tilger officially retired after 28 years with the Police Department. And, said police chief Gary Goss, Tilger’s position won’t be filled due to the city’s tight budget and policy of relieving that pressure by attrition. That leaves a total of 13 officers in the department.            

Of Tilger’s service, Goss said, “He’s been a valued member of the department. He was always very compassionate. We are gonna miss him.”

Tilger first came to the department as a dispatcher. At the time, police work was not something he was interested in pursuing. In fact, before being hired as an officer in Northville, he spent time in Livonia training to be a police officer. Ultimately, he gave it up.

“I didn’t want to be a cop,” Tilger said.

But things changed.

“Once I got into the dispatching part of it, I thought ‘this is fine but I want to be a police officer,’” he said.

Eventually, the Westland man found a map – not knowing where Northville was – and switched from Livonia to Northville's dispatch, where there was a job opening. Then, in 1982, after leaving Northville for a while, he got a call from a then-sergeant to come back– this time as a police officer.

It was a career switch that he was ready to make, he said.

“I never liked bullies. Being a police officer protected people from bullies,” Tilger added.

It’s a job that he said has humbled him.

“You lose any type of arrogance,” he said. “You’re right close to the human condition. And you deal with folks when, a lot of times, they’re at their worst.”

Tilger said he has enjoyed working in Northville.

"I’m fortunate that the people like the police for the most part," he said. "Most people, when I go to their house, they’re glad to see me."

While Tilger may miss his colleagues, he said he is looking forward to freeing himself from his 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule.

In his newfound downtime he said he might do some fishing. But at the top of his to-do list is travel.