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Appointments: Diekhoff as Bloomington police chief, Kerr as fire chief means reuse of 16-year-old headline

Appointments: Diekhoff as Bloomington police chief, Kerr as fire chief means reuse of 16-year-old headline
Diekhoff, Kerr bring knowledge, commitment Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan has made two excel- lent selections in naming Mike Diekhoff police chief and Roger Kerr fire chief. Diekhoff had long been the apparent successor to Chief Mike Hostetler, who is retiring at the end of the year. He has been a thoughtful member of the Bloomington City Council the last nine years. He is a 20-year veteran of the Bloom- ington Police Department and Has been involved in policy matters as captain of the uniform division. He grew up in Bloomington and graduated from Bloomington High School North and Indiana University. Kerr was in the same graduating class at BHS North. He has been with the Bloomington Fire Department for 19 years and has been acting chief since September. Both men have knowledge about the community and already have made an investment in it. They should be strong leaders for Bloomington's future. Herald-Times op-ed Dec. 19, 2007

In late 2007, Bloomington’s then-chief of police Mike Hostetler was set to retire at the end of the year.

Bloomington’s fire chief at the time was Roger Kerr, who was serving as interim chief, to fill the vacancy left by Jeff Barlow, who left for a fire chief position in Kentucky.

In mid-December of 2007, then-mayor Mark Kruzan, was finishing his fourth year of service as Bloomington’s executive, and preparing to start a second term. A Democrat, Kruzan was fresh off a municipal election victory over Republican candidate David Sabbagh.

That’s when Kruzan announced he would be appointing Kerr as permanent fire chief. At the same time, he announced he would be promoting Mike Diekhoff to police chief from his position as captain in the department.

The two appointments made for a pair of front-page headlines in the Dec. 19, 2007 edition of the Herald-Times, in a single package with an all-caps banner: NEW CHIEFS. The individual articles were headlined: “Diekhoff to lead police” and “Kerr secures fire post.”

Those are basically the same headlines that could have run in recent weeks, 16 years later.

Bloomington’s new mayor, Kerry Thomson, has re-appointed Diekhoff to serve as chief of police. And Thomson appointed Kerr to fill in as interim for fire chief Jason Moore, who resigned.

Last Friday, both men were confirmed in their respective roles as chief of police and interim-chief of the fire department by Bloomington’s board of public safety.

On Friday, Thomson’s newly appointed corporation counsel, Margie Rice, told the board that the mayor appoints the fire chief and the police chief, but they are subject to the approval of the board of public safety. That’s why the board had those items on their agenda. Diekhoff did not attend the meeting, but Kerr did.

Kerr mentioned that when he was first appointed fire chief—which was at the end of 2007, Diekhoff was appointed police chief at the same time.

News coverage at the time noted that Kerr and Diekhoff were in the same class at Bloomington High School North.

While Diekhoff has been serving continuously as chief since the start of 2008, Kerr is making a return to the role of fire chief.

Kerr was appointed permanent chief to start 2008 and served until late 2014. In November of 2014, Kerr stepped down from the job of fire chief and took on the responsibilities of a battalion chief. That was right after Kruzan announced that he would not be seeking reelection as Bloomington’s mayor.

Slotting in as fire chief to fill the vacancy left by Kerr was then-deputy chief Todd Easton, who started the job on Jan. 2, 2015.

When John Hamilton assumed the mayorship, he started a search for a new fire chief, but Easton stayed on until a replacement was found. Bloomington’s online payroll records show Easton’s last day of service as Sept. 6, 2016.

The new fire chief appointed by Hamilton was Jason Moore.

Although Thomson announced her planned retention of Moore with her first round of appointments in early December, Moore resigned a few days later.

In other business handled by the five-member board of public safety on Friday, the three members present elected their officers for the coming year. The board chair will be Barbara McKinney and board vice chair will be Rachel Guglielmo. Rounding out the trio on Friday was Natalia Galvan.

Bloomington’s board of public safety has one vacancy due to the resignation of Kim Gray and one upcoming open slot due to Isak Asare’s planned resignation. Asare has now started his service as a Bloomington city councilmember. All board of public safety positions are appointed by the mayor.

The Herald-Times archives from 1943 to 2013 in the form of page scans are available through the Monroe County Public Library.

CITY OF BLOOMINGTONNEW CHIEFS Diekhoff to lead police By James Boyd 331-43071 jboyd@heraldt.com As a young officer, Mike Diekhoff went into Mike Hostetler’s office and told him that one day, he was going to take Hostetler’s job. It took two decades, but he was right. Capt. Diekhoff will become chief of the Bloomington Police Department on Ian. 1, fulfilling a career-long dream. He said Mayor Mark Kruzan talked with him Friday about the future of the department. Following that conversation, Diekhoff was offered the job. “I accepted ” he said Mon- day afternoon, just a few hours after the announcement was made public. "I’m really excited for the opportunity that’s ahead of me,” Diekhoff said. “I told my wife that when I interviewed for this job 20 years ago, Chief Hostetler was the deputy chief, and I told him I wanted his job. So, it took 20 years, but I Finally got there.” Diekhoff will replace Hostetler, who retires at the end of this year, while Lt. Janelle Benedict will replace deputy chief Randy William- son, who retired this past spring. Benedict, a 20-year veteran of the department, will also assume her new duties on Jan. 1. The promotion will make Benedict the highest-ranking female police officer in the department’s history, accord- ing to a news release. Diekhoff will continue a career that has already spanned 20 years as a police officer as well as a nine-year run on the city council. Hav- ing served in both capacities will give him a special insight into the way the department works, he said. “1 know all the city council members. I’ve worked with most of them,” Diekhoff said. “The nice thing about being on the city council for as long as SEE POLICE | PAGE A7 Kerr secures fire post By Sarah Morin 331-43631 smonn@heraldt.com Roger Kerr has seen a num- ber of changes in his nearly two decades with the Bloom- ington Fire Department. A doubling in fire runs from about 1,800 to 3,500 a year. Better equipment and bet- ter staffing. A new dispatch system in which fire crews respond to emergency medical calls. And now, the 19-year veteran will be leading the department as it faces future challenges. Kerr said Monday he found out during the weekend that his role as acting chief will become permanent Jan. 1. He was appointed in September to fill in for former Chief Jeff Barlow, who was preparing to leave for a fire chief position in Kentucky. Kerr joined the force as a 23-year-old, A family friend, WAyne Gobel, was a fire inspector and told Kerr that the department was hiring. He signed up and now “can’t imagine doing anything else,” Kerr said. As chief of the 110-member fire depart- ment, Kerr said he’s look- ing forward to more coor- dination with the Bloom- ington Police Department in terms of outreach and assistance with BPD’s Critical Incident Response Team. He’ll be working with a new chief there, as well, with Mike Diekhoff tapped to take charge of the police department next year. The men know each other, having both graduated from Bloomington High School North in 1983 and then attend- ed Indiana University. Kerr said the two have talked about possible partner- ships. “We’re working on the details," Kerr said. Mayor Mark Kruzan announced the top public safety positions Monday. “We’re living in a remark- able time for our community’s public safety agencies," Kru- KERR SEE FIRE | PAGE A7
Dec. 19, 2007 article published in the Herald-Times.

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