The town of Chesterton is concerned that the safety of its police officers could be jeopardized by Porter County’s policy change for handling 911 calls.
Starting April 1, Porter County’s E911 system will no longer immediately transfer 911 calls for police to Chesterton and Porter but will stay on the line with the caller. The Porter County E911 dispatcher will also do the initial dispatch by computer of Chesterton and Porter Police officers to a call.
The county commissioners recently adopted the new operating procedure on March 10, stating that it had to be done to comply with state law.
Chesterton and Porter have operated their own separate dispatch system since 2014 to handle police calls. Town Council President Erin Collins, D-2nd, said the county commissioners proceeded with voting on the policy change before having a promised meeting with Chesterton and Porter officials to discuss the issue.
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Town representatives are scheduled to meet Friday with commissioners and E911 officials.
“This SOP or standard operating procedure as currently written could at times put our officers and our residents in jeopardy. This is first and foremost a public safety matter,” Collins said at Monday’s Town Council meeting.
Cisco Rodriguez, Chesterton’s assistant police chief, said the concern is with the efficiency of the new standard operating procedure, especially when there is an emergency call that is a “rapidly evolving” situation.
Rodriguez said that an officer responding to the scene might have a follow-up question for the person who placed the 911 call. Under the new system, the officer would have the Chesterton/Porter dispatcher contact the E911 dispatcher for the information, creating potential delays.
There are also concerns with the county handling by computer the dispatch of Chesterton and Porter police officers. Rodriguez said he tested the system last week, and the supervisor of detectives got the computer prompt, though he doesn’t usually do initial response to emergencies.
Tensions between the towns and Porter County officials over the operation of a separate dispatch center surfaced after an officer-involved shooting on June 18 outside the Hilton Garden Inn in Chesterton. There was a dispute about whether there was a delay in dispatching a Northwest Health ambulance for an injured officer.
Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, suggested within hours after the shooting that Chesterton and Porter should merge their operations with the Porter County E911 system, which already handles fire calls for the two communities. Chesterton and Porter officials criticized Biggs and called for the resignation of Debby Gunn, executive director for Porter County Central Communications.
“Our goal has been and continues to be to handle this professionally, collaboratively and in good faith,” Collins said. “However, we are now in a position where we must advocate strongly for our officers and our people in the community.”
In other business, the council approved an agreement with Porter County Recycling & Waste Reduction for the town to have a food waste compost site.
Under the agreement, residents can dump their food waste in designated bins placed behind the town’s administrative offices at S. 15th Street and Broadway. Porter County Recycling would be responsible for transferring the food waste to a compost site at Dogwood Park. The compost pile turns to mulch, which can then be used on gardens.
Keri Marrs Barron, executive director, said that there has been a successful compost site in Valparaiso for three years. She noted that 36,000 pounds of food waste have been collected since January.
Council also:
•Learned that the town was successful in getting a $297,619.50 Community Crossings grant from the state that will finance half of the resurfacing cost for Indian Boundary Road between Plaza Drive and Calumet Road. Plaza Drive will also be resurfaced. Rieth-Riley Construction Company has been awarded the resurfacing contract.
•Approved an agreement to write a proposal for a Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI) grant to help finance the cooperative efforts between the town, Duneland YMCA Healthy Living campus and Chesterton Art Center. The old Chesterton Middle School campus is being transformed by the YMCA and the Art Center is in the process of expanding by renovating a bike shop site on S. 4th Street.
•Heard a proposal from Councilman James Ton, R-1st, for the town to write a job description for an economic development coordinator. In October, Rebecca Parker resigned as the town’s economic development director and the position was unfilled. Ton said the town needs someone to represent them, especially in welcoming new businesses.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.