Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong said Sanford was an officer he respected and admired.
“Officer Sanford was one of the first officers I met when I started at the Wayne Police Department. Officer Sanford treated me and everyone else with respect. He was a good man and will be greatly missed,” Strong said.
Mr. Sanford, 68, of Westland died Dec. 1, in Ypsilanti. Mr. Sanford, who was born Dec. 2, 1952, grew up in Wayne and attended Wayne Memorial High School where he graduated in 1971. During his high school years, he worked at Greenfield Village in Dearborn. After high school, he went on to take some college courses at Eastern Michigan University and in 1974, entered the police academy where he graduated in the winter of 1975. He served as a Wayne police officer from August 1974 to December 2000. He then worked at the 34th District Court in Romulus as a court officer from 2002 to 2021.
Mr. Sanford and his wife, Beth, were married for 29 years and were the parents of three children.
An outdoorsman, Mr. Sanford enjoyed being up North and hiking and fishing.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Sanford is survived by his daughters, Lisa (Pawel) Cichowlas, Lauren (Octavian) Borowicz; his son, Jason (Katie Anderson) McDermott; his mother, Louise Sanford; two granddaughters, Shelley Cichowlas and Ariana Borowicz; two grandsons, Peter Cichowlas and Jack Borowicz; a brother, Ron (Helene) Sanford, and a sister, Kathy (Doug) Huesdash.
