By ALLEN LAMAN
alaman@dcherald.com

Beier

HUNTINGBURG — Something was missing.

After walking away from the National Guard, Derrick Beier wanted to fill the hole that formed in his life. Monday morning, the 30-year-old Bretzville man took a step toward just that, when he was sworn in as the newest member of the Huntingburg Police Department.

“Ever since I got out of the military, I just kind of had that little void,” Beier explained, “of feeling [that] I wanted to do more with community service.”

He brings to the force six years of Army National Guard experience — Beier was a mortarman and worked his way up to the rank of E-5 sergeant — and for the past two years, he worked as a corrections officer and later as an officer supervisor at Dubois County Community Corrections.

Beier has also earned an associate degree in law enforcement, and additionally, he previously worked at Jasper Engines and Transmissions for six years. Beier said his schooling helped drive him to want to serve the community in meaningful ways.

“It’s not just about locking up the bad guys,” he said of his new profession. “It’s the fact of serving the community to be a productive member. And actually helping those in your community.”

When asked what he brings to the team of officers, Beier said he is dedicated and strives to reach goals. He connects well with others from all walks of life and has good communication skills.

Monday’s swearing-in ceremony felt “really good,” he said, adding that he felt “a big sense of accomplishment, and not only that, [but] responsibility.”

In a phone interview, Huntingburg Police Chief Arthur Parks pointed to Beier’s extensive resume when asked why he was selected to join the department.

“With a strong background like that ... it’s hard to get candidates anymore just with any kind of type of background even close to law enforcement,” the chief said. “So, that really helps us out with him. That he’s got some guidelines of the way things are ran already before he comes in here, without being a police officer already.”

Parks later noted that Beier’s hiring will bring the Huntingburg force back up to a full 14 officers. The chief said he hopes Beier will be able to attend police academy training later this year, but due to COVID-19-related issues, that could be pushed to 2021.

In the meantime, he will undergo a 40-hour pre-basic course in early August, and he’ll also train for 12 weeks in the field with one of the department’s field-training officers.

Beier lives in Bretzville with his wife, Sarah, and their three children: Carter, 7; Liam, 4; and Avery, 1.