Mansfield police Capt. Shari Robertson to retire

Mansfield police Capt. Shari Robertson will serve her last day on the force on July 7, retiring after 28 years.

"I liked I got the chance to do a little bit of everything," said Robertson, a 1985 graduate of Madison Comprehensive High School. "I'm proud to have been able to have the opportunity to move around in the division. It played a large part in my being successful as a captain," she said Thursday.

"I've had many great mentors over the years. Probably the person who had the most impact on me was Chief Phil Messer. He taught me the importance of serving the community, that there were other ways to solve problems than arresting an individual."

Robertson said she was encouraged by five friends around 1992 to take the civil service test at Malabar High School. They didn't show up.

Handles security at Ohio State Reformatory

In her spare time, Robertson has handled security at the Ohio State Reformatory over the years. She is currently president of the board of directors at the historic prison-turned-museum.

She said she has some plans after retirement in some other areas.

"I plan on enjoying evenings and being able to sleep through the night without phone calls," she said.

Robertson began her law enforcement career with the Division of Police on Aug. 24, 1994 and was promoted to sergeant on February 14, 2005. She was promoted to the rank of captain on April 3, 2014.

She has been assigned to numerous areas within the division including, Patrol Section, Community Policing, Traffic Section and the Office of Professional Standards/Training Section. Since April of 2014, she has served as the Commander of the Special Operations Bureau which includes Detective Section/Major Crimes Unit, Forensic Science Section, Neighborhood Impact Section and the Office of Professional Standards/Training Section.

Served a variety of roles in Mansfield police division

During her career Robertson served in various roles within the division including Recruitment Officer, Public Information Officer, Intelligence Liaison Officer, OPOTA Certified Firearms Instructor, Field Training Officer and Field Training Supervisor.

For the past eight years, she has served as the Accreditation Manager for the Division’s Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as well as the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board, the state’s version of CALEA. She has been a Division grant writer/manager since 2008 and has accumulated approximately 11 million dollars in successful local, state, and federal grant awards for the division over that time.

Robertson earned a bachelors in business administration in 2004 from the Mount Vernon Nazarene University and is a graduate of the 2012 Police Executive Leadership College. She is a an OPOTA certified training Instructor, a lifetime certified Crime Prevention Specialist through the Ohio Crime Prevention Association (OCPA).

She has served as an OCPA District Representative, OCPA Secretary and was elected President of the Ohio Crime Prevention Association in 2007. She has co-chaired numerous OCPA state training conferences and co-authored OCPA’s Advanced Crime Prevention Specialist Training Manual and Curriculum in 2012.

Co-Supervisor of the year in 2013

Robertson has received numerous division awards over the years including Letters of Recognition, Special Commendations and a Legion of Merit. She was named the division’s “2013 Co-Supervisor of the Year” and in 2015 she was received OCPA’s “Michael Blankenship Service Award” for her outstanding crime prevention initiatives and statewide commitment to crime prevention and community policing.

In 2019 Robertson was the recipient of the Domestic Violence Shelter’s “Advocacy Service Award” for initiatives to better serve DV victims. She continues to serve the community as a member of several nonprofit executive boards.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield police Capt. Shari Robertson to retire after 28 years