Titus named new Gary Police Chief as ISP partnership winds down
As the formal partnership between the Gary Police Department and the Indiana State Police draws to a close July 1, the city is ready to move forward with its first permanent police chief under the restructuring.
Commander Anthony Titus has been tapped to replace interim Chief Jerry Williams, Major over Logistics at ISP headquarters in Indianapolis, effective Saturday. Williams has been serving as the chief since January, helping to usher in the new policies set forth through the initiative. Titus was a member of Williams’ command staff.
Titus and his command staff sat down exclusively with the Post-Tribune to discuss the impact of the ISP partnership and where the department is headed under his leadership.
The changing of the guard brings to a close the formal partnership between the city’s police department and the ISP that launched about 15 months ago as Mayor Jerome Prince sought ways to reorganize and implement industry-wide best practices to improve public safety and make the department a better place to work.
Titus uses the word “intentional” often as he describes the process working with the ISP and the changes made to department policy the partnership brought about. His command staff includes Commander of Supportive Services James Bond, Commander of Investigations Ed Gonzalez and Commander of Uniform Services Mark Davis, who served with Titus as part of Williams’ command staff. Commander of Special Operations Samuel Abegg was pulled from the patrol division to take on special operations.
“We have been very intentional with the movements we’ve made with the organization,” Titus said. “We have all meshed really well.”
Titus expects to name a deputy chief as soon as Friday.
Titus said that while the policy changes are important and move the department forward, without the backing of leadership and the rank and file, the changes would not occur.
Bond said the new policies transition the department from a commission-based model to one where the police chief and his leadership team make personnel decisions. The changes streamline personnel processes as officer candidates now complete all the necessary testing in one or two days. Prior to the changes, it may have taken as many as two years for candidates to wind their way through the process.
The department recently hosted a round of applicants for a two-day qualification event. Bonds said he was surprised and encouraged by the turnout of officers who wanted to volunteer to make the event a success.
He was expecting maybe five or 10 officers to sign up, instead 20 people did.
“I was in awe by the amount of officers who were willing to volunteer,” Bond said. To him, seeing that many officers interested in the process to bring new recruits on shows they support the direction the department is headed.
Davis is one of only three captains in the department, a change in rank made possible by the promotion opportunities created after the personnel policies were put in place. Creating promotion opportunities trickles down through the ranks. As personnel climb the ranks, they create openings for other officers to be promoted.
One of the areas the partnership dealt with was increasing the efficiency of officers and their presence on the streets. New technology obtained through grants sought during the time have helped increase the number of license plate readers throughout the city. LPRs have been vital in apprehending suspects after serious crimes. Gonzalez said there have been instances where patrol enters a suspect license plate number into the system and that individual has been located in other communities or even states within the hour, as investigators arrive on the scene.
Gonzalez said LPRs have transformed investigations.
Titus said all the officers in the department soon will have body cameras, another acquisition made possible through grants. Equipment has been installed in the vehicles and officer training is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with a full launch of everyone equipped with body cameras this summer.
“It’s not just about resident safety; it’s officer safety as well,” Titus said.
Titus tapped Abegg to join the command staff because he had the foresight to use manpower in a way that helped put more officers on the street. It was that unique insight that put him on the radar for a command position, Titus said. He described Gonzalez as one of the “premiere homicide investigators in Lake County.”
“The command staff is a microcosm of the entire agency,” Titus said.
Like many in the department, Titus said the partnership with the ISP and the change it has brought about was a roller-coaster at times.
“I loved it. I hated it. I loved it. I hated it,” Titus said. “Now, I love it. I began to see the unique value of what they are doing here.”
“We are really leaving a legacy behind,” he said.
Mayor Prince said there is a lot of emotion associated with the culmination of the partnership effort.
“It’s what I consider to be a significant accomplishment during my three and a half years in office, and that includes a period of 18 months where we all were impacted by COVID,” Prince said. “More importantly, I feel good about the prospects for the city and the future relative to public safety.”
One of the primary goals coming into office was to evaluate and analyze all of our systems and all of our operations and make significant enhancements and improvements in areas where we could, he said.
“Most of that had to be done from a structural foundational aspect,” Prince said. “You have to have the right structure, the right people — personnel and leadership. I think we achieved that.”
Prince thanked the governor’s office and all of the partners who believed in the vision for a restructured and well-functioning police department that not only benefits the residents but also the men and women who lay their lives on the line every day.
ISP Superintendent Douglas Carter in an earlier interview said the first step in the partnership was identifying what the weaknesses were in a very objective way and as impersonal as possible. Carter will be in Gary Friday to announce the partnership’s transition.
Carter shared Williams, a top member of his command staff, with the city to help the department implement the changes and prepare for a new leadership teams.
Everything from the quartermaster to accountability to human resources and the hiring, firing, discipline and promotion of officers was looked at. Carter said the partnership looked at the authority of command throughout the entire agency along with things like training, equipment, vehicles, response times and scheduling.
The partnership may have gotten off to a rocky start with very public pushback to the slate of 17 policy ordinances from some members of the common council — including President William Godwin, D-1, and then Councilman Clorius Lay, D-At Large — but both Carter and Godwin said they were able to talk through the matter and create more open lines of communication that helped move the process forward.
Sixteen of those ordinances ultimately were approved. The acrimony at a meeting providing an update of the partnerhip prompted Carter to walk out. Since that time, Carter said efforts were made to mend fences and the group found that with some direct contact and direct conversations with the council president and members of the council, the support has been more forthcoming.
“Our initial conversation didn’t go very well. We had some very private meetings. We are all trying to do the right thing here. At the end of the day, we are doing what’s right for the citizens,” Carter said.
“A shift in culture doesn’t happen overnight,” Carter said. “It happens with the buy in of the people involved. It is hard to tell what that buy-in might be at this time.
“The measurements I get are things I hear people say when I’m up there. There are a lot of very good people at the Gary Police Department who are trying very hard and want it to be different.”
