Gary mayor appoints Major Jerry Williams new interim police chief

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Gary Mayor Jerome Prince announced Friday that Indiana State Police Major Jerry Williams will be the city's new interim police chief.

Prince said he's clearly the right person for the job at the right time.

"Our plan is and the plan will be to do a hard reset here with the Gary Police Department," Williams said.

The Gary native and veteran lawman has been working with the department since April 2022 when the mayor, as part of his Re-Imagine Gary initiative, asked the Indiana State Police for help reforming the city's police force. The department has dwindled down to 140 officers from 250 a few years ago.

Gary is Indiana's 10th-largest city with roughly 70,000 residents.

"We may have a short number of police officers but if we all stick together, everything can change for the better," said resident Sylina Harris.

The department overhaul was expected to only take a few months, but is still ongoing as the city receives support and recommendations from the INSP.

"We'll provide access to IT, training, administration, human resource, internal investigation," said Indiana State Police Supt. Douglas Carter.

In 2022, Gary's city council passed more than a dozen ordinances addressing the hiring and firing of officers, department disciplinary processes and the scope of the police chief's duties. The city's had nearly a dozen police chiefs since 2006, and there hasn't been a permanent police chief since 2020.

"I just think it's unfortunate we've couldn't have really got this done two years ago," said Councilman William Godwin.

While a committee formed to find a permanent police chief did recommend three candidates, Mayor Prince said any decision should wait until department reforms are complete.

Williams will remain as Gary's interim police chief at least until July.