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By MELISSA DONOVAN; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, August 22, 1997 Page: 2A
WILKES-BARRE- Two patrol officers were promoted to sergeant Thursday, the
day after they were praised for their work in a big drug raid.
Donald Crane Jr. and Michael Rosengrant, armed with automatic weapons,
worked with state police on Wednesday, backing up other officers in sticky
situations.
“They were very important in high risk arrests,” said Police Chief William
Barrett.
Crane is expected to head the emergency services unit, the city’s
equivalent of a SWAT team, and Rosengrant is expected to take charge of an
expanding canine unit. While those tasks currently are under Captain of Patrol
Tom Merlie, both officers assist him a great deal in those areas, said Mayor
Tom McGroarty.
“Both of them are very experienced and very good police officers,” Merlie
said.
Their new titles will not take much time away from their work on the
streets, McGroarty said.
The new sergeants will be paid $33,738 a year each, a raise of
approximately $1,000, said mayor’s spokeswoman Shannon McNulty.
Crane, who has spent half his 46 years with the city police, said the raid,
called the largest in city history, was exciting. “It’s just part of (the)
work that guys like Mike and I like.” He hopes it cuts down on drug traffic in
the city. “These people are very difficult to suppress. It’s very lucrative.”
Fifteen officers, including Crane and Rosengrant, are trained for the
emergency services unit, Crane said. Their expertise includes working with
police snipers, handling hostage situations and dealing with suicidal people.
At Thursday’s City Hall ceremony, Crane took snapshots of Rosengrant taking
the oath.
Then Crane knelt while daughter Sarah, 4, pinned a sergeant’s badge on his
blazer. For Crane, the ritual represented a return to rank. He had risen from
patrolman to captain of special services before McGroarty returned him to
patrol shortly after taking office.
Rosengrant, 41, a 16-year veteran, said he is interested in continuing to
work with the canine unit. The city has two dogs, one of which is trained to
sniff for drugs. A third dog will graduate from police training this month.
Buck, the dog that sniffs for drugs, was in heavy demand Wednesday. That
shows more are needed, McGroarty said. He wants to add two more this year. The
Philadelphia Police Department often provides dogs for free, but the training
costs approximately $10,000 apiece, he said.
TIMES LEADER/RICHARD SABATURA
Newly promoted sergeants Michael Rosengrant, left, and Donald Crane Jr.
were sworn in by Mayor Tom McGroarty in City Council chambers on Thursday.