Martin L. Flask
Director of the Department of Public Safety
Director of Public Safety Martin L. Flask has spent his adult life in public service. He joined the Jackson Administration in January 2006 and is responsible for administrative oversight of all public safety forces—Police, Fire, EMS, and the Office of the Dog Warden—as well as general safety administration, including information support services, the Office of Professional Standards, and the Police Review Board.
Flask began his public safety career as a military police officer in 1968 and was appointed in 1971 as a uniformed police officer for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In 1973, he began his service with the Cleveland Division of Police and rose through the ranks to Chief of Police, a position from which he retired in 2001.
Immediately following his retirement, Flask was appointed Security Manager and Airport Security Coordinator for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He served as the liaison between the Transportation Security Administration of the Department of Homeland Security and the Airport. He was responsible for the development and implementation of airport security programs, emergency planning, Airport Security, Airport Rescue Fire Fighting, and emergency medical responses.
Flask’s experience extends to the private sector. He was formerly employed as a Resident Security Agent for Major League Baseball, he served as an Assistant Security Manager for a retail merchandise chain, and he ran a consulting service that specialized in providing security-consulting services for area businesses and executives. He is currently a partner with his brothers in two separate realty investment businesses.
He is a life member of the Ohio Chiefs of Police Association and a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Ohio Retired Police Chiefs Association. He currently serves as Co-chairman of the partnership for a Safer Cleveland and is on the board of Trustees of the National Conference for Community and Justice.
Flask is married to wife Eloise and has five grown children and 14 grandchildren.
