The Lake County Sheriff's Department is disbanding its Metro Homicide Unit effective Jan. 16 — a couple months shy of the division's eighth anniversary.
The move came as a surprise to Gary Police Chief Brian Evans and Mayor Jerome Prince, who learned of the decision Wednesday.
Evans said he was contacted Wednesday by Lake County Sheriff's Department Police Chief Vince Balbo and was informed the sheriff's department would be disbanding the combined unit in January. Gary was the only other local policing partner with dedicated resources in the unit.
"This is certainly not something the Gary PD desired or sought. It was a great benefit to us and the rest of the region," Evans said.
Currently, three Gary detectives serve in the unit, along with three sheriff department detectives and a full-time deputy prosecutor.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez denied that reassigning the county's three officers in the unit meant he was "disbanding" it.
"We are allocating our resources and transferring many officers throughout the department as we begin a more proactive approach to fighting crime," Martinez said in an email, who said staffing shortages — exacerbated by at least 10 officers off work currently due to medical or military leave — have proved challenging.
" Like Gary Police Department, we simply need more officers," Martinez said.
"... I want the people of Gary to understand we are not abandoning them," Martinez said.
Martinez cited the efforts by the county's Crime Scene Investigations unit, High Crimes Unit, Drug Task Force, Narcotics, Auto Theft and its Detective Bureau in helping to solve homicides in Gary. Martinez said he also initiated joint overnight enforcement operations which happen at least twice monthly involving officers from agencies across the county among other efforts. Many of those enforcements are in Gary.
Evans said the homicide unit has been a massive success. Charges have been filed in 14 of the last 16 homicides in the city.
The move by the sheriff's department comes as Gary is facing a 33 percent increase in homicides over 2021, according to Evans. So far this year there have been 61 homicides in Gary. At the same time in 2021, there were 46 homicides.
Overall shootings in the city are down though, Evans said.
"We are down 22% in non-fatal shootings," the chief said. At this time, there have been 135 non-fatal shootings in the city compared to 175 non-fatal shootings in 2021.
He said crime does not recognize borders. The Gary Police Department could be investigating a resident of another community for a crime committed in the city, or a crime could occur, and pursuit of the suspect can run through multiple cities and towns.
Evans said Balbo cited staffing issues and a desire to commit resources to other upcoming projects within the sheriff's department as the reasons behind diverting resources from the homicide unit.
Population growth in south and central areas of Lake County is stretching department resources, Martinez said. He said the sheriff's department plans on opening a real-time crime center in 2023.
"We have also bolstered our Crime Intelligence Unit, which is now made up of a team of dedicated analysts who continue to serve the citizens of Gary and beyond by retrieving video, cell phone and other electronic evidence and intelligence," Martinez said.
"It's my hope that all of these efforts will strengthen our collaborative effort both with the Gary Police Department and the citizens they serve," Martinez said.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said he was shocked to learn that the sheriff was disbanding the Metro Homicide division.
"I am not in agreement with disbanding the Metro Homicide Unit," Carter said, adding he was not informed by Martinez or anyone in his department that planned to disband this unit.
"I'm pretty shocked the sheriff is taking this position with the city of Gary. I'm a firm believer in not only the sheriff's department but every municipality in Lake County ... we all have an obligation to one another," Carter said.
He said the unit was valuable to all of Lake County because of the specialized skills of the investigators who were able to put together solid cases that could be brought to prosecution. Carter's office had one prosecutor dedicated to the unit but another 24 within the office that worked with the unit on a daily basis.
"It's going to be harmful to the entire county this unit does not exist," Carter said.
Gary Mayor Jerome Prince said he learned about the disbanding from Evans Wednesday. He said he had not yet spoken to Martinez.
"Looking at it from a historical perspective, Metro Homicide started in 2015 as part of a sharing of resources agreement. The city of Gary was the first one to sign up," Prince said. "I think it was a success because of the sharing element."
Although the move is disappointing, Prince said he believes the city is on the right path regarding the police department due to its relationship with the Indiana State Police and the public safety partnership on the federal level. As a result, the city has received a number of recommendations to improve its policing operations, including restructuring its investigate processes including homicides.
Carter said he would be in contact with Prince and Gary police officials to help pave a pathway forward. Carter said it may be time for some other communities to step forward and participate in the unit for the betterment of the county.
Moving forward, Evans said the department will have to adapt, bring its detectives back to the Gary police station and recreate the department's in-house homicide division.
"Homicide is a very, very challenging crime to investigate. It takes a lot of man hours, a lot of time," Evans said. Having detectives able to focus exclusively on those crimes was helpful. The partnership also created an opportunity for very specialized training for the participants, which will help the Gary Police Department as it develops its own homicide unit.
Evans said the department has great relationships with other departments throughout the region and is hopeful that will continue. He is grateful for the partnership created by the unit.
"I'd like to thank the sheriff's department for the time we did spend together. It just does hurt," Evans said.
Lake County Councilwoman Christine Cid, D- East Chicago, who is the council's representative to the sheriff's department, said Thursday she was unaware of the decision.
"I am confident the sheriff gave careful consideration in making such a decision. And, will continue to provide assistance to the City of Gary when necessary," Cid said via text message.
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