Meet Mike Brickner, Candidate for County Council At-Large
Mike Bricker, Candidate for County Council
Michael Brickner is currently the Director of Operations of Lake County Community Corrections in Crown Point Indiana. He has held the positions of Director of School Safety and Transportation for East Porter County Schools, Director of Public Safety for Porter County and Chief of Police for the City of Valparaiso. He served as President of the Indiana Association of Chiefs for the calendar year of 2013.
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives” Ronald Reagan Mike's Family
Mike and his wife Amy have been married for 20 years. They have two children, Zoe age 18 and Michael age 17. Mike and his family have been active members of Calvary Church for over 20 years. |
About Mike
Mike is a graduate of Chesterton High School, Ball State University, Northwestern University Center for Public Staff and Command and the Police Executive Leadership Academy. He also played a year of college basketball at Lakeland College in Sheboygan Wisconsin. He is a 31 year veteran of the Valparaiso Police Department serving as the Chief of Police for 13 years before retiring in August 2017. Mike was the first chairperson for the Porter County Safe Schools Commission. He also was a member of the Board of Directors for the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and Indiana Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission. Mike's Background During his career at the Valparaiso Police Department Mike received numerous awards including Valparaiso Police Department Honorable Mention Awards for outstanding performance, and departments Police Officer of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In 2006 Chief Michael Brickner was the recipient of the “William Sudberry Memorial Leaders Leader Award.” This award is given to the top Law Enforcement executive in the State by the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police. In 2010 Chief Brickner was presented with the Community Mental Health Award for his contributions to the mental health community by Porter Starke Services. In 2011 and 2014 he was recognized by the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve as a “Patriotic Employer” for his support of employee participation in Americas National Guard and Reserve Force. In January of 2014 he was presented with the “Sagamore of the Wabash” award. This prestigious award is given to the “Outstanding Hoosier Citizen” by the Governor of Indiana. Mike's Experience During his tenure as Chief of Police, Mike was instrumental in the move from a police station occupied for over 150 years to new, state of the art police facility. He was also the lead person in the effort to consolidate the 911 dispatch which was a State mandate. Under Chief Brickner’s command, the Valparaiso Police Department was recognized as one of the most progressive police departments in the State of Indiana. In 2004 the department was recognized by Calumet College as, “Police Department of the Year” for its implementation of the first “Child is Missing” program in the Region. In 2007 the department was recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police as one of the top 25 police agencies in the world and a finalist for the “Webber Seavey” award for the “Valpo Alert Notification System.” In 2010 Valparaiso Police Department became one of only 13 departments in the State of Indiana to be accredited thru the Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation (CALEA). |
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