With the amount of retirements, officers seeking other employment and movement of personnel within the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, several part-time patrol officers have been hired to help provide safety to residents of the county.
Ten people have left the department in the past several months including a few deputies, a chief deputy, two detectives and three dispatchers.
The staff at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department had so much fun with last week’s trick-or-treat event at the justice center last week that they’re going to do it again tonight!
Sheriff Michael Gayer said the event last week was held in conjunction with the Halloween event at the Tippecanoe River State Park north of Winamac. He said that there are treats left to give to the kids of Pulaski County. Stop by the justice center tonight from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
The Pulaski County EMA Director will have a new vehicle.
Larry Hoover requested the title transfer of a pickup that the sheriff’s department no longer uses. Sheriff Michael Gayer had approved the use of the three-quarter ton pickup for use by the EMA Director and notified the commissioners of his decision.
Hoover explained that he does have money his budget for fuel and for travel. Because this vehicle will be used by Hoover for county business, he will no longer need to submit claims for fuel reimbursement for his personal vehicle. He will be able to fuel the vehicle using the county system and pay for his portion from his budget.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department has sold one of its K9s to Starke County.
Sheriff Michael Gayer told WKVI News that the K9 officer resigned abruptly and no other officer in the department wanted to resume the responsibility of K9 “Terror”. He reached out to other departments to see if a K9 could help them. One department that expressed interest was the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. The K9 and a kennel were sold to Starke County for $8,500 about two weeks ago.
The Pulaski County commissioners discussed the K9 situation Monday night during their meeting where Commissioner Terry Young was not pleased with the amount of money for which the K9 was sold. Commission President Larry Brady gave the sheriff the option of including the vehicle with the K9 and the kennel at a price of $17,000 or leave the vehicle for use by a department head. The vehicle stayed with the county.
The Pulaski County Council discussed several additional appropriation and transfer requests on Monday night. A couple of requests from the Pulaski County Justice Center were discussed at length.
Sheriff Michael Gayer spoke at the Eastern Pulaski School Board meeting so Matron Carrie Aaron and Sergeant Fred Rogers represented the sheriff’s department where they explained an $80,000 additional appropriation. Sergeant Rogers said the money is needed to pay past bills that have been due – some for many years. For example, according to Sergeant Rogers, the fuel bill hadn’t been paid since September of 2013 while other vendors for a variety services have been waiting since 2011 for payment.
Sheriff Michael Gayer revealed that deputies responded to 361 total crashes; 45 of which were personal injury accidents, 204 involved deer and three accidents resulted in a fatality.
There were 5,348 calls for service which breaks down to a call every 1.6 hours of the day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 37 battery cases were investigated, 33 burglary incidents were investigated, 114 thefts occurred and 70 drug investigations were conducted.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was one of 250 law enforcement agencies that participated in the Operation Pull Over effort over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Sheriff Michael Gayer stated that seven impaired drivers were arrested in the campaign.
The Indiana State Police was also involved in this effort. Officers participated in extra patrols during the Thanksgiving travel weekend in the Safe Family Travel, Operation Pull Over campaign that ended Sunday.
Sheriff Michael Gayer said monetary donations can be made to the Shop with a Cop account at any Alliance Bank so the children less fortunate can choose an item for Christmas this year.
A dangerous drug is making a resurgence in the area, as Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said the county has seen its third death as a direct result of a heroin overdose. Gayer said the third death was less than a week ago; the man was found by a roommate with heroin and paraphernalia nearby.
Gayer explained it’s difficult to combat this new danger in the community, as thus far, it’s staying under the radar.
Since members of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department put wanted persons on the department’s Facebook page, seven arrests have been made.
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said that anonymous tips came into the department about several subjects featured on the social media site and officers followed up on those tips. Seven arrests have been made and more are anticipated.
Sheriff Gayer said that on Monday, Aug. 12, a list of wanted felons was posted on the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Call the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department at (574) 946-6655 if you have an anonymous tip as to where the felons may be, but do not attempt to take them into custody on your own.
Law enforcement agencies across the nation continue to create strategies to help diffuse an active shooter incident in a school or other public place. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, EMS and all county fire departments will be coming together on Saturday, Feb. 23 to train for such an event at the Monterey Elementary School at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer is looking forward to working with all emergency personnel in creating a plan to keep residents safe.
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said this is an opportunity for everyone to come to get together for an informational session.
The Pulaski County Council met with the commissioners in a joint session Monday night to discuss the salary ordinance, which sparked some discussion regarding a pay increase for the sheriff’s department that had once been on the proposed ordinance, but was stricken from the latest draft.
It’s all about accountability, said Pulaski County Commissioner Larry Brady, who expressed his desire to ensure county employees only have keys to the courthouse doors and their own offices. He told his fellow commissioners and the department heads in attendance that he would like all county building keys to which the commissioners have access to be stored at the county 911 center.
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer approached the county commissioners at their meeting this week with a request to follow through with the second of two vehicle purchases approved by the county council. Gayer said he had purchased one of the vehicles last year with the commissioners’ approval, but now, he has returned once again seeking permission to purchase the second.
The Pulaski County Commissioners met last night, their first meeting with two new commissioners Larry Brady and Terry Young, before a packed audience. Many of the attendees were county employees who had a number of issues with the new county handbook, and the commissioners heard their arguments last night.
The Pulaski County Commissioners this week approved a new purchase for the Sheriff’s Department: a new Dodge Charger squad car from Braun Chrysler. Sheriff Michael Gayer told the council that he will obtain several more quotes from local dealerships for both quarter- and half-ton trucks to add to his fleet.
Gayer said that so far, Goble has been the only local county dealership to provide a price on the new vehicle, and Steve Dobson at Jim Dobson Ford has yet to give him a response. On top of that, Gayer’s contact at Braun Chevrolet has been on vacation and Gayer has not been able to reach him.
