Jared McDaniel sworn in as newest member of GPD

Becoming the city’s newest police officer, Jared McDaniel takes the oath of office from Greencastle Mayor Bill Dory. The Terre Haute native now lives in the Bainbridge area with his wife Haven.

Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

The newest officer on the Greencastle Police Department isn’t exactly new, but he will be serving in a more permanent capacity.

Rising from the ranks of the GPD reserve officer program, Jared McDaniel was sworn in by Mayor Bill Dory on Tuesday as the newest patrolman for the city.

“We’re happy to have you join us on a full-time basis,” Dory told McDaniel after he had recited the oath of office. “You’re joining a good team here. Tom (Chief Sutherlin) has a good crew to work with on the police department.”

McDaniel is already familiar with that crew, as he has been a reserve for about 15 months.

“We’re excited to have him aboard full-time,” Sutherlin said. “All the comments from the officers who have had the chance to work with him are positive.”

The opportunity came about for McDaniel when Officer Kyle Lee departed for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

“With the opening we have with the departure of Kyle Lee, we decided to bring him on,” Sutherlin said.

Though he’ll be hitting the street immediately, high demand for the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy means McDaniel won’t begin that part of his training until early 2020.

McDaniel may not have grown up wanting to be a police officer, but it’s something he’s had in mind pretty much his entire adult life.

“Pretty much right around the time I started college, I made friends with some police officers,” McDaniel said. “It looked like something I would want to do and would be a good fit for me. So, ever since about seven years ago.”

A Terre Haute native and graduate of Terre Haute North Vigo, McDaniel now resides near Bainbridge with wife Haven, a Putnam County native.

Besides his wife, McDaniel’s family and in-laws were in attendance for his big day and meeting some of his co-workers.

“In general, I’m looking forward to working with these guys full-time,” McDaniel said. “As a reserve, I was just popping in monthly but I’m looking forward to working with these guys every day.”

McDaniel will start out on the day shift but will transition to nights.