Lake County Sheriff's Department (Indiana) Explained

Agencyname:Lake County Sheriff's Department
Abbreviation:LCSD
Employees:494
Country:United States
Divtype:U.S. stateState
Divname:Indiana
Subdivtype:County (United States)County
Subdivname:Lake County
Map:Map of Indiana highlighting Lake County.svg
Mapcaption:Jurisdiction of Lake County Sheriff's Department
Sizepopulation:496,005 (2010)
Legaljuris:Lake County, Indiana
Police:Yes
Local:Yes
Headquarters:2293 North Main Street
Crown Point, Indiana
Sworntype:Merit officer
Sworn:168 (police officers)
170 (corrections officers)
Unsworntype:Civilian employees
Unsworn:156
Chief1name:Oscar Martinez, Jr.[1]
Chief1position:Sheriff
Chief2name:Vincent M. Balbo[2]
Chief2position:
Chief of Police
Chief3name:Edward G. Jenkins[3]
Chief3position:
Deputy Chief of Police
Boat1type:Police Boat
Boats1:7
Aircraft1type:Helicopter
Aircraft1:3
Website:Lake County Sheriff's Website

The Lake County Sheriff's Department is the county law enforcement agency for Lake County, Indiana.

History

The first sheriff was elected in 1837, when Lake County was organized.

Notorious gangster John Dillinger was held in the Lake County jail from January 1934 to March, when he escaped.[4] The sheriff at the time was Lillian Holley, who held the office after the previous sheriff, her husband Roy, was shot and killed: although the media mocked her for Dillinger's escape, the fault lay with the prison warden and his officers.[5]

In 1975, the Sheriff was found in contempt for failing to improve conditions at the jail.[6]

In 1985, Sheriff Rudy Bartolomei was indicted on corruption charges.[7] Bartolomei later turned state witness and was placed in witness protection after providing testimony against several Lake County political figures.[8] [9]

In 1990 the burned body of a deputy and his wife were found in a car in Gary, Indiana. The deputy was due to testify in a federal racketeering trial against a Merrillville town councilman.[10]

In 2016, Sheriff John Buncich was indicted on federal public corruption and bribery charges. His chief deputy and another person were also named in the charges.[11]

In 2021, officers of the Crown Point, Indiana police department began to pursue a vehicle for speeding 90 mph in a posted 45 mph zone. The vehicle was being driven by Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr., who activated the emergency lights on the vehicle, after which the police stopped their pursuit. The county commissioners soon sent a letter to the county prosecutor asking for an investigation into alleged misuse of county vehicles. In January 2022, Martinez was indicted on charges of resisting law enforcement and reckless driving.[12] [13] Martinez called the indictment a "witch hunt" and nevertheless ran for office in the 2022 election.[14] In February 2024, Martinez pleaded guilty to reckless driving, a misdemeanor, in exchange for a felony charge of resisting law enforcement to be dropped by prosecutors and was sentenced to sixty days probation.[15]

Organization

The Lake County Sheriff's Department employs 168 sworn police officers, 170 sworn corrections officers and 156 civilians under the sheriff's direction.[16]

The command staff includes a chief of police and four commanders, each responsible for a division, who are assisted by deputy commanders. The Corrections Division is led by a chief warden, an assistant warden and three deputy wardens.[17]

The department also has a number of Special Operations Units with specifically trained personnel assigned for Aquatics Underwater Recovery and Rescue, Aviation, Bomb Squad, Chaplains, K-9, Marine, Tactical (SWAT) and a mobile communications Command Center.[23]

Aircraft

The Lake County Sheriff's Department has three helicopters used for law enforcement in the county and for assistance to local police agencies. They are maintained by the Aviation Unit and are operated from the Griffith-Merrillville Airport in Griffith, Indiana.

According to FAA records, the helicopters currently registered to the agency include a Bell OH-58A a Bell OH-58A and a Eurocopter EC120B

Demographics

Demographics[24]
Male93%
Female7%
White71%
African-American16%
Hispanic13%
Asian0%

Fallen officers

In the history of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, seven officers have been killed in the line of duty.[25]

NameDate of deathAgeTenureCause of death
Deputy Sheriff George R. ZorodnyMarch 14, 1930381 yearMotorcycle accident
Sheriff Roy F. HolleyJanuary 17, 1933432 yearsGunfire
Special Deputy Sheriff Charles E. McKinneyMarch 21, 19845110 yearsGunfire
Sergeant William G. PatersonJanuary 25, 19944418 yearsVehicular pursuit
Deputy Paul W. MitchellJune 12, 1999241 yearAutomobile accident
Deputy Chief Gary L. MartinAugust 22, 20066328½ yearsBicycle accident
Correctional Officer Britney R. MeuxMarch 6, 2012253 yearsVehicular assault

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bill Dolan. New Lake County Sheriff Martinez credited experience, Hammond support for victory. The Times of Northwest Indiana. September 16, 2017. 2017-09-16.
  2. Web site: Chief of Police biography . 2020-03-07 . Lake County Sheriff's Department.
  3. Web site: Deputy Chief of Police biography . 2017-09-29 . Lake County Sheriff's Department.
  4. Book: Girardin, G. Russell . Dillinger : the untold story . 2005 . Indiana University Press . William J. Helmer, Rick Mattix . 0-253-21633-8 . Expanded ed. / prepared with the assistance of Rick Mattix . Bloomington . 58797614.
  5. Book: Schulz, Dorothy Moses . Breaking the brass ceiling : women police chiefs and their paths to the top . 2004 . Praeger . 0-313-05215-8 . Westport, Conn. . 57435768. 116–117.
  6. Book: Clearinghouse Review. 9. National Clearinghouse for Legal Services. 1975. 280.
  7. Web site: Lake County Sheriff Indicted On Corruption Charges . 2022-11-09 . AP NEWS . en. 1985-03-04.
  8. Web site: THE CASE OF THE SINGING SHERIFF . 2022-11-09 . Chicago Tribune.
  9. Book: Davich, Jerry . Crooked politics in Northwest Indiana . 2017 . History Press . 1-4396-6009-3 . Charleston, SC . 1002476801.
  10. Web site: BODIES MAY BE DEPUTY, WIFE . 2022-11-09 . Chicago Tribune. 1990-01-16.
  11. Web site: 2016-11-18 . Lake County Sheriff John Buncich and Portage Indiana Mayor James Snyder Indicted Separately on Public Corruption Charges United States Department of Justice . 2022-11-09 . edit.d9.justice.gov . en.
  12. Web site: Indiana Sheriff Charged With Fleeing Police Who Were Trying to Pull Him Over for Speeding . 2022-11-09 . NBC Chicago . en-US. 2022-01-07.
  13. Web site: 2022-03-16 . Judge: Criminal case can proceed against NW Indiana sheriff . 2022-11-09 . WFYI Public Media . en-us.
  14. Web site: Sarah . Reese . Indictment looms over race for Lake County sheriff . 2022-11-09 . nwitimes.com . en.
  15. News: Lizzie Kaboski. Lake County sheriff pleads guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving. The Times of Northwest Indiana. February 5, 2024. 2024-03-02.
  16. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/history/history.htm History of the Lake County Sheriff's Department
  17. https://web.archive.org/web/20040223075819/http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/admin/commanders.htm Command Staff of the Lake County Sheriff's Department
  18. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/support/support.htm Administrative Services Division overview
  19. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/civil/civil.htm Civil Division overview
  20. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/corrections/corrections.htm Corrections Division overview
  21. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/criminal/criminal.htm Criminal Investigations Division overview
  22. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/uniform/uniform.htm Uniform Division overview
  23. http://www.lakecountysheriff.com/specialops/specialops.htm Special Operations Units overview
  24. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/lemas00.pdf Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers
  25. Web site: Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial. Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial. March 2, 2024.