Putnam County Sheriff's Office adds two new deputies

Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 3:48 AM

Since taking over the reigns of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department last year, Sheriff Jerrod Baugh has said numerous times that Putnam County is a great place to be a police officer.

Two new deputies already know that, but Baugh said he is excited to see them learn that as a member of his department.

Former DePauw University Police officer Austin Query and former Greencastle Police officer Charles Inman Jr. have been hired on, Baugh told The Putnam County Post.

"We had two positions open from people leaving. I really think the pay raise that we were able to offer helped us attract a really great group of candidates. We had 10 applicants to pick from and two of them had already been to the police academy and were police officers," Baugh said.

In Inman, the sheriff's office gets someone who has been a police officer for over two decades, according to Baugh. Inman, who was a Captain with the Greencastle Police Department, is a seasoned instructor and officer, Baugh said.

As for Query, he served as a reserve deputy with the sheriff's office for several months before moving onto DePauw, Baugh said.

The fact the two have been officers will save the department both time and money by not having to send new officers to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

"It saves us four months of not having to send them to the academy and is quite the cost savings financially," Baugh said.

Of the remaining eight applicants, Baugh said he intends to offer reserve deputy spots, which would give them a years worth of ride along experience.

Baugh said the fact his department was able to get two local officers is "huge."

"They already know the county, know the positions and understand what they are getting into it. It's a lot different than an Indianapolis Metro Police Department or something like that. You could go from having a boring day to putting cows back up to chasing a murder suspect through the county We are very fortunate to have local officers who wanted to join us. I say all the time Putnam County is a great place to be a police officer, and we have great support from our community," Baugh said.