LaPorte County Merit Commission hears monthly sheriff’s report; marine patrol logs more lake hours

LaPorte County Sheriff’s Merit Commission members met Oct. 8 and approved the minutes from last month before hearing a monthly operational report from the sheriff’s office that included mixed trends in calls, traffic enforcement and marine patrol activity.

Sheriff said calls for service fell 10% from August to September — from 2,613 to 2,220 — and reported an 18% drop in crash reports (from 89 to 73) and a 29% decrease in traffic stops (from 1,135 to 895). “So far this year, we've taken 20,488 calls compared to this time last year in which we had 19,627 calls for service,” the sheriff said, noting a small year-to-date increase.

The sheriff also thanked the Merit Commission for a donation to the LaPorte County canine fund following the unexpected death of former commissioner Louise Mach and said he had asked LaPorte High School principal Scott Up to fill Mach’s remaining term. Scott Up, who said he was honored to serve, told members he would do his best to support the commission.

Captain Smythe delivered the marine patrol summary, saying the Department of Natural Resources increased the grant for the unit this year and that deputies logged 232.5 patrol hours on the lake, up from about 190 last year. Smythe said the unit focused on education over enforcement, reporting 133 boat inspections and 240 boat stops that contacted 516 boaters. He said the unit issued few citations but made numerous warnings and that the grant is used primarily to fund enforcement hours while the sheriff’s office covers insurance and fuel costs.

When asked whether the DNR funds cover fuel or other expenses, Smythe said the sheriff’s office generally pays fuel and insurance, and the grant hours support enforcement details; he added that only a small amount of grant money was used for minor equipment such as life-jacket inflation cartridges.

The commission also received community engagement updates. The sheriff recapped a well-attended Fridays with Family event and said the Citizens Police Academy, which began Sept. 16, enrolled about a dozen participants. Detective Derek Deck said the academy shortened some station rotations to spend more time on parts of the department that the public may not know about, and praised staff participation in the program.

Other announcements included a Sheriff’s Christmas show scheduled for Dec. 13 at Kesling Middle School and a reminder about school-bus safety; the sheriff reiterated a “zero tolerance” approach to motorists passing buses with stop arms extended. The sheriff also warned residents about evolving scams, saying most recent schemes arrived in letters rather than phone calls and recounting a southern LaPorte County case in which a person lost more than $100,000. “If you're unsure, just hang up or call us. We're not gonna ask you to submit payment via gift cards, Bitcoin, Green Dot cards,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff reported that promotional interviews in October would include roughly 25 candidates and noted that Franciscan Health of Michigan City donated emergency first-aid kits to all deputies. He read thank-you notes and messages from Miller’s Health and Rehab and from family members who praised deputies for their handling of a death-scene investigation.

The commission set its next meeting for Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 9:18 a.m. after a motion, second and voice vote.

Votes and formal motions recorded in the meeting included the approval of last month’s minutes by voice vote and the motion to adjourn, also approved by voice vote. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the public remarks.