The Porter County Sheriff’s Department patrols more than the county’s 800 miles of roads. Two newer special units – the Marine Unit and Mounted Enforcement Unit – combine public relations with the ability to conduct specialized search and rescue.
Saturday, the Post-Tribune climbed aboard the department’s 2007 Boston Whaler Challenger to join Patrolmen Chase Peiffer and Brandon Kestle on their patrol of the county’s 13 miles of coastline. Peiffer, who captained the boat that day, has been with the unit for three years, even before it had a boat that was purchased two years ago from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
He spent his first year training with the Lake County Marine Unit, which currently has three boats and has been in operation for 120 years, according to Peiffer.
“I guess a lot of what we do isn’t necessarily enforcement. It’s presence,” he said, explaining that the Port of Indiana brings in significant imports, from raw materials for area steel mills to wind turbine blades that are shipped there before being transported overland.
The unit also goes to a variety of courses, including training with the DNR and FBI on such topics as responding to bomb threats on the water. One of their patrol tasks is to keep fishermen out of restricted areas. Saturday morning, Marine 1 had the entire shoreline to itself in the gloomy, gray aftermath of recent weather.
Patrolling from the western edge of the county’s shoreline, eastward, the boat passed the Indiana Dunes State Park Pavilion and Mount Baldy in the national lakeshore. Peiffer said boaters like to anchor in that area on hot, sunny days.
“I like to get up to the buoys. You’ll get a lot of people waving, seeing the sheriff’s department out,” Peiffer said. “It makes them happy.”
On the return from the east end of the county’s shore to the west, Peiffer operates at nearly full speed to demonstrate response time. “This water is a 2 or 3 out of 10 in terms of response time,” he explains of the flat surface broken only by many tiny dapples. “We could probably go 48 or 50 (miles per hour) if it’s glass, but in three-foot waves it can take us 45 minutes to an hour to get to somebody.”
Those instances aren’t too common, fortunately. Jet skiers are the source of the most visual violations. The officers recalled an episode in which they had to pull over a jet ski piled with four people, including kids without life jackets.
As the sun finally showed itself around 1 p.m., boatloads of families started making their way up the east arm of the Little Calumet River, waving at the patrol as it passed. “You guys have fun,” Kestle shouts to them. “Have a blast out there today.”
That kind of positive interaction with the public is also a benefit of the Mounted Unit, which is in a pilot phase since starting up this winter. Rancher Matt Walsworth in Jackson Township has volunteered his facilities and horses for training the seven-officer unit.
“Right now, we’ve only done some PR events,” explains Mounted Unit leader Lt. Joe Dobson. They also took the horses to a Touch the Truck event at Jackson Elementary School and patrolled all the concerts at this year’s Porter County Fair.
“As long as everything goes smoothly, we plan on extending it to a search and rescue unit as well,” he said.
“A lot of times the drones can’t get into wooded areas,” said Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon, of the usefulness the unit could provide searching for missing persons on the lakeshore. “There’s never one solution for every problem.”
The sheriff’s department has a long list of part-time special units and programs for officers to be a part of: K-9, CSI, SWAT, bomb, motorcycle, bicycle, beach, drone, firearms/taser, crisis negotiation, accident reconstruction, honor guard, and certified firearms instructor, as well as several jail units.
Project Lifesaver members employ GPS tracking to assist in the recovery of dementia and special needs residents, while the Wellness Team focuses on officer wellness, critical incidents, debriefings and peer support.
In fact, while the mounted unit is intended to serve the public, Dobson said it’s great for officers too. “It is very relaxing to brush a horse, to ride on a horse. It’s very calming and relaxing for our mental health and the stressful job that we have,” he said.
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He remembers a time, years ago, when horses were made available as a stress reliever to the county’s first responders, and none of them took advantage of the opportunity. “Oh, man, I wish I would have done that a lot sooner,” said Dobson, who also spent seven years on both the K-9 and SWAT units.
He said Balon conducted a needs assessment among staff when he first took office. “My needs included a mounted patrol and a helicopter,” Dobson recalled. He’s not holding his breath on the helicopter – Lake County shares theirs when it’s needed – but said the focus on offering officers more policing opportunities beyond road patrol and responding to civil disturbances, coupled with recent raises, has reduced staff exodus.
Within the state, the Porter County Sheriff’s Department is considered a large department with nearly 180 employees serving 180,000 residents across 450 square miles. “Specialties are a big necessity for any agency,” Balon said.
Money for overtime to fund the special units is provided by state grants. “We also have money from the County Council because they saw a need,” Balon said.
“We’re in a ‘what if?’ profession,” he added. “It kind of encompasses a lot of issues that we’re dealing with.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.