Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Howell Police Department is welcoming back a familiar face as its newest sergeant.

At a recent City Council meeting, Sergeant Darren Lockhart was administered the oath of office and had his badge pinned on by his wife Kym, surrounded by family and friends.

Lockhart began his career with the Howell Police Department in July of 1993 and then retired in 2018 after working 25 years as a patrolman. He worked as a deputy with the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office for the past four years before returning to the Howell department. Over the course of his earlier career in Howell, Lockhart served as a school resource officer, field training officer, and traffic enforcement officer.

Lockhart commented during the meeting that it “feels like being home again”. He said he’s excited to be back and working in the new role to hopefully mentor the current officers they have so that they can take their places when they finally push on.

Officer Brad Charlick was not present at the meeting but received a lifesaving award for his actions while on patrol on October 11th when he came across a man lying partially in the roadway, unresponsive.

It was stated that Charlick checked on the subject and based on his training and experience, suspected he was overdosing from an unknown narcotic. He requested assistance from additional officers and EMS, Narcan was administered, and the man became somewhat responsive. The man was able to walk to the ambulance on his own and eventually gave Officer Charlick a statement indicating that he had purchased and used heroin in the Detroit area prior to returning to the City of Howell.

It was noted that the man had been left on the side of the road by others he had traveled with to Detroit. Medical personnel stated that had Officer Charlick not located the man, there was a high likelihood that he would have passed away due to the low temperatures and his already slowed breathing that was occurring upon their arrival.

Charlick was nominated for the award by his peers.