Hunter Ready To Be Next Chief
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
A profound respect for law enforcement led Hunter, 48, down that path rather than music, and now he's prepared to take over for Steve Foster as the next chief of police of Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]Hunter was named as Foster's replacement at a recent Warsaw Board of Works meeting and will start his new post Jan. 1.
A lifelong resident of Kosciusko County, Hunter grew up in North Webster and is a 1977 graduate of Wawasee High School.
"It's something that goes back to my childhood," said Hunter of his desire to be in law enforcement. "My neighbor growing up was a state trooper, Jerry Waikel. It was just something I looked up to and respected."
Hunter also cites Tony Strombeck, the former town marshal of North Webster, as an inspiration.
A scheduling conflict, however, may have been the catalyst for Hunter's decision.
"As a kid, I wanted to play electric guitar," said Hunter. "But my lesson was at the same time 'Adam 12' was on television. 'Adam 12' was more important to me."
After graduating from Wawasee, Hunter joined the WPD in 1982, and graduated from the Indiana Law Academy in 1983. Hunter became a detective in 1995 and was named captain in 2004.
In June 2000, Hunter graduated from the 201st FBI Academy in Quanaco, Va.
When Hunter was hired in 1982, he was the 25th police officer on WPD's force. Since then, the force has grown by 10 officers while Warsaw, as a city, has grown as well.
And in that time, the volume of crime in Warsaw has grown, as has, too, the tools to fight those crimes.
While Hunter has great respect for past officers, he realizes the role of a police officer has changed over the past 25 years.
"There's been an evolution in police work," said Hunter. "There's more of a social aspect to police work. A lot of times police find themselves in counseling roles.
"We need to work to get ourselves interwoven into the community," said Hunter.
Hunter cited the DARE program and the Warsaw Citizen's Police Academy as a couple of programs that have developed that allow officers to interact with the community.
Hunter already has been approached by a neighborhood in town that wants to start a neighborhood watch. Hunter said he wants WPD to help neighborhoods that want to be involved with such programs.
While Hunter wants to help the citizens of Warsaw, he also said it's important for people and neighborhoods to be proactive.
"Getting neighborhoods involved, in helping to fight crime, to get them to reports crimes as they happen or report suspicious behavior, that's what we need from them," said Hunter. "They live in these neighborhoods 24/7. Making them connected is the step I'm looking forward to."
Learning from outgoing Chief Foster is one way Hunter hopes to get acclimated to his job quickly.
"Chief Foster has been a great role model for me," said Hunter of his predecessor. "He has a measured approach to any problem no matter how severe. I got to say, he's been a great boss."
Hunter said he would like to see the police force increase, but that it's "up to the politicians."
Besides learning from officers like Waikel, Strombeck and Foster, among others, Hunter said he's pleased with the department he's taking over.
"I'm so proud of this department and the people that work here," said Hunter. "It's a remarkable bunch of people that work here and it makes my work easy."
Hunter has been married for 28 years to Darleen, who is a cosmetologist. Together, the two have owned and operated Spectrum Day Spa on Commerce Drive in Warsaw for 14 years.
The couple have a daughter, Lauren, 17, who is a student at Warsaw Community High School.
This week, Hunter named Det./Sgt. Scott Whitaker as his captain, effective Jan. 1. Tony Faucett was named lieutenant over the detective division. Lt. Bret Richardson and Lt. Kip Shuter will remain in their posts over and patrolmen and traffic, respectively.
A profound respect for law enforcement led Hunter, 48, down that path rather than music, and now he's prepared to take over for Steve Foster as the next chief of police of Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]Hunter was named as Foster's replacement at a recent Warsaw Board of Works meeting and will start his new post Jan. 1.
A lifelong resident of Kosciusko County, Hunter grew up in North Webster and is a 1977 graduate of Wawasee High School.
"It's something that goes back to my childhood," said Hunter of his desire to be in law enforcement. "My neighbor growing up was a state trooper, Jerry Waikel. It was just something I looked up to and respected."
Hunter also cites Tony Strombeck, the former town marshal of North Webster, as an inspiration.
A scheduling conflict, however, may have been the catalyst for Hunter's decision.
"As a kid, I wanted to play electric guitar," said Hunter. "But my lesson was at the same time 'Adam 12' was on television. 'Adam 12' was more important to me."
After graduating from Wawasee, Hunter joined the WPD in 1982, and graduated from the Indiana Law Academy in 1983. Hunter became a detective in 1995 and was named captain in 2004.
In June 2000, Hunter graduated from the 201st FBI Academy in Quanaco, Va.
When Hunter was hired in 1982, he was the 25th police officer on WPD's force. Since then, the force has grown by 10 officers while Warsaw, as a city, has grown as well.
And in that time, the volume of crime in Warsaw has grown, as has, too, the tools to fight those crimes.
While Hunter has great respect for past officers, he realizes the role of a police officer has changed over the past 25 years.
"There's been an evolution in police work," said Hunter. "There's more of a social aspect to police work. A lot of times police find themselves in counseling roles.
"We need to work to get ourselves interwoven into the community," said Hunter.
Hunter cited the DARE program and the Warsaw Citizen's Police Academy as a couple of programs that have developed that allow officers to interact with the community.
Hunter already has been approached by a neighborhood in town that wants to start a neighborhood watch. Hunter said he wants WPD to help neighborhoods that want to be involved with such programs.
While Hunter wants to help the citizens of Warsaw, he also said it's important for people and neighborhoods to be proactive.
"Getting neighborhoods involved, in helping to fight crime, to get them to reports crimes as they happen or report suspicious behavior, that's what we need from them," said Hunter. "They live in these neighborhoods 24/7. Making them connected is the step I'm looking forward to."
Learning from outgoing Chief Foster is one way Hunter hopes to get acclimated to his job quickly.
"Chief Foster has been a great role model for me," said Hunter of his predecessor. "He has a measured approach to any problem no matter how severe. I got to say, he's been a great boss."
Hunter said he would like to see the police force increase, but that it's "up to the politicians."
Besides learning from officers like Waikel, Strombeck and Foster, among others, Hunter said he's pleased with the department he's taking over.
"I'm so proud of this department and the people that work here," said Hunter. "It's a remarkable bunch of people that work here and it makes my work easy."
Hunter has been married for 28 years to Darleen, who is a cosmetologist. Together, the two have owned and operated Spectrum Day Spa on Commerce Drive in Warsaw for 14 years.
The couple have a daughter, Lauren, 17, who is a student at Warsaw Community High School.
This week, Hunter named Det./Sgt. Scott Whitaker as his captain, effective Jan. 1. Tony Faucett was named lieutenant over the detective division. Lt. Bret Richardson and Lt. Kip Shuter will remain in their posts over and patrolmen and traffic, respectively.
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