Resident urges council to weigh officer safety after high-speed pursuit; police chief reports recent arrests and small grant

Jennifer Klug, a Porter resident who identified her address for the record, used the public-comment period to urge the council to consider officer safety when approving new vehicles, citing a widely viewed video of "Officer Reynolds pursuing the truck all over creation." She told the council, "you don't want something going out when he's chasing somebody at 110 miles an hour," and said that vehicle procurement decisions should reflect the demands of pursuits as well as routine patrol mileage.

Chair acknowledged Klug's point and said the council takes officer safety into consideration. No formal motion or policy change on pursuit policy or vehicle replacement was made during the meeting.

Police Chief Te later delivered the department report and gave department activity for February: "We saw 198 traffic stops, took 32 case reports, uh had ... nine felony arrests, 12 total arrest ... 17 misdemeanor charges ... seven crash reports," and noted two incidents where Officer Tupel, a certified crisis negotiator, assisted the Porter County SWAT team and subjects were taken into custody without further incident. Chief Te also reported that Deputy Chief Ble secured a $500 donation from the Warren Skip Highwood Memorial Foundation to purchase medical supplies in response to recent Narcan and AED deployments.

The council did not take further action on pursuit policy or vehicle purchases at this meeting. The public comment and the police report were recorded and will remain in the minutes; any change to pursuit guidelines or vehicle procurement would require a future agenda item.