The Washington Island Police Department faces the same crimes and challenges of medium and larger communities.  With a population of just over 700 people on a nearly 24-square mile island, the department's two officers, Chief Tyler McGrane and Officer Gary Schultz, can have their hands full when answering separate calls and can't back each other up.  Even when responding to impaired drivers or domestic dispute calls together, McGrane says they find themselves using verbal judo to calm a situation and take advantage of a more personal touch.

The Washington Island Police Department will get help from the Door County Sheriffs Department when McGrane or Schultz takes a vacation or attends training sessions.  Chief McGrane says his department's greatest asset in emergencies comes from the community itself.

It's that connection with the community that has kept Chief McGrane on the job for 20-years and Officer Schultz on patrol for eight-years.