“It was just time,” Brian Zambach said on February 18. “You know when the time is right. And the world has become…well, it is what it is in 2023.”
Zambach was referring to his February 26 retirement from the Northfield Village Police Department after more than 27 years in law enforcement.
“This is a young man’s job,” Zambach said. “It was just getting to be a lot.”
Zambach, 51, said the biggest reason for retiring is to spend more time with family.
Zambach and his wife, Stacy, a student supervisor at Lee Eaton Elementary School live in Northfield and have two children, Justin, a junior at Nordonia High School, and daughter, Jordan, a 2017 Nordonia grad.
If Zambach had any doubts about retiring they dissipated when his former chief, John Zolgus announced his retirement, Zambach said.
“I didn’t make it a secret that when Chief Zolgus retired, I was retiring,” Zambach said. “He and I had done our whole careers together and I just didn’t want to go through the chore of another chief and another administration – I’ve been through six. It was just time.”
Zambach joined Northfield in 1997, at the age of 25 and was promoted to sergeant 3.5 years ago. He decided to try law enforcement to keep from being stuck in a cubicle and closed in a building, he said.
“I wanted to be out and about,” Zambach said. “The typical cliche is that you want to help people, and that’s still true with me, but I didn’t want to be stuck in an office.”.
During his time at the department, Zambach has worked almost every job including patrol, shift supervisor, juvenile diversion officer, and school resource officer.
Zambach has developed relationships with a lot of kids over the years who still come up to him and rehash memories, he said.
“It’s awesome,” he said of the kids and young adults who remember him. “That’s something you don’t forget.”
Several people have asked Zambach to become the SRO at Nordonia High School, but he’s not thrilled about the idea right now, he said.
“I just don’t want to do Police work anymore,” he said. “I plan on hopefully getting a job at the high school.”
Zambach is taking a lifetime of memories with him as well as a torn ACL from an injury and arthritis in his knee from years on the job, he said.
One of the things he’ll always remember is the first time he met one of his best friends.
Zambach was dispatched for a squad call to a home early one morning about 23 years ago.
“There was a child choking,” he said. “And I got there and grabbed the kid and picked her up. I really didn’t have to do anything.”
The child was choking on her mom’s earring, which came out of her mouth on its own.
“To this day, almost 23 years later, we are the best of friends,” he recounted. “That’s one of the coolest moments.”
Zambach will also have time to spend with another woman he loves – Mother Nature.
Zambach has had to fight the schedule to get the first day of hunting seasons off. No more, he said.
“This is going to free up so much more time for hunting,” he said. “I’m a huge hunter and spring turkey season is coming up and I can’t wait to go after some spring gobblers. That’s my life – being out in the woods – aside from my family.”
Mayor Jennifer Domzalski and Council issued a proclamation commending Zambach at the February 22 Council meeting.
“During his twenty-six years of service with the Village Police Department, Sergeant Zambach exhibited professionalism, dedication to duty, and compassion for the Village’s residents, students, and the general public,” according to the proclamation. “The Mayor, Council, employees, and residents of the Village Of Northfield want to thank Sergeant Brian Zambach for his hard work and dedication to the Village over the past twenty-six years and congratulate him on his retirement.”
