By Beth LeBlanc, bleblanc@detroitnews.com
The second in command at the Michigan State Police has announced her retirement from the force, following months of criticism of the department’s leadership.
Lt. Col. Aimee Brimacombe, deputy director of the state police, plans to retire in the coming months, state police spokeswoman Shanon Banner said.
Banner would not provide further details on when Brimacombe planned to leave the department.
Brimacombe’s retirement comes amid turmoil in the department, prompting members of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association in June to vote no confidence in Brimacombe and the department’s leader, Col. James Grady II. About 98%, or 1,167 troopers, responded “no,” and nearly 2%, or about 18 troopers, responded “yes,” according to results from the union.
State Rep. Mike Mueller, a former law enforcement who has been critical of Brimacombe’s management, said Tuesday that he wished her the best and thanked for her service. The announcement, he said, gives the state police an opportunity to begin rebuilding trust in the department.
But a lone executive-level retirement, Mueller said, “will not fix systemic problems.”
“For too long, troopers and command officers have raised serious concerns about leadership culture, morale, and retaliation — concerns that have been validated by overwhelming no-confidence votes from the people who put the uniform on every day,” said Mueller, R-Linden.
Sen. Jim Runestad, a White Lake Republican and chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, called the resignation “overdue” in a statement titled “one down, one to go.”
Grady, Runestad said, “sits at the top of the pyramid, and he must be next.”
“This transition needs to happen as soon as possible to begin restoring public trust in the MSP and morale within the agency, which reached an all-time low under this disastrous leadership,” Runestad said.
Brimacombe’s promotion in Dec. 2023 by several ranks, from first lieutenant to deputy director, has been criticized because she had recently been disciplined for using a department vehicle. Usually, state police policy would require a two-year delay between when an employee is disciplined and when they are next promoted.
At the time, Grady said Brimacombe would be responsible “for the formulation and implementation of the department’s mission, policies, strategic plans, directives, organization structure and for the direction of all departmental staff excluding those reporting to the director.”
Her promotion and her involvement in decisions that prompted lawsuits against the department were the subject of a couple of House Oversight Committee inquiries last year.
In 2023, the Shiawassee County prosecutor charged two troopers with misconduct in office and misdemeanor assault and battery after they arrested a man on a bicycle they believed to be carrying drugs. The man, Jacob Long, was the brother of Tiffany Homola. Homola was an acquaintance of Brimacombe and contacted Brimacombe about the issue via Facebook Messenger, according to testimony at Michigan House Oversight hearings last year.
A Shiawassee County judge dismissed the charges against the troopers, at which point Long’s family filed a civil case. The case was resolved relatively quickly for $999,999, a dollar below the million-dollar threshold that would have required Whitmer’s office to sign off on the settlement payment.
In December, Heather Luebs, a former MSP senior executive management assistant, filed a complaint against Grady after Luebs alleged she was demoted after she mistakenly sent a text message following the union’s no-confidence vote. Luebs texted another MSP official that Brimacombe was in a meeting with Grady following the vote, but accidentally sent it in a message with others, including Brimacombe.
