On July 9th we had a wonderful time enjoying the Friendship Botanic Gardens and listening to a very dynamic talk by Dion Campbell the Michigan City Police Chief. The weather was hot but a beautiful breeze kept us all cool inside the pavilion overlooking the Rotary garden and the fountain in Lake Lucerne.Tom Cipares ran a fun Sarge program asking questions about the origins of the Friendship Gardens. Suzy Vance stole the show by answering most of Tom's questions.
Chief Dion talked about his background and path to becoming the Chief of Police. Dion enjoyed is 20 years as School Resource Officer Just when he was ready to retire circumstances in Michigan City changed and he was summoned to take on the position of Police Chief. Initially his wife and family were not in favor of him taking on that position but eventually after praying over it and discussing it they said it was time for him to take on the leadership of the department.In establishing the goals and directions of the MCPD Dion referenced Sir Robert Peel's Policing Principles from 1829 which in part were "The key to preventing crime is earning public support. Every community member must share the responsibility of preventing crime, as if they were all volunteer members of the force. They will only accept this responsibility if the community supports and trusts the police." and "The police earn public support by respecting community principles. Winning public approval requires hard work to build reputation: enforcing the laws impartially, hiring officers who represent and understand the community, and using force only as a last resort."
Dion demonstrated the value of these principles during the demonstrations held recently in Michigan City.
The demonstrations were initially reported as a gathering of 600 people between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30. Message wishing evolved into a gathering over 1000 people lasting almost done till midnight. The turning point of the demonstrations began when Chief Dion went to the lighthouse place and defused aggressive actions by young people by explaining he didn't take sides he only wanted what was good.
The result of Chief Dion's actions were that Michigan City only suffered a few broken windows and some minor damage do some businesses As opposed to major damage, fires and looting that other cities encountered during these types of demonstrations. The chief thanked all of his officers who worked tirelessly and professionally during the demonstrations as well as the Indiana State police, the La Porte County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement departments from around the area.
All members of the Rotary Club thanked Chief Dion for protecting the city of Michigan City and its inhabitants.
Unfortunately the recording of this meeting got lost due to lack of Internet capabilities.