Lt. Jeff Hammons retires from police dept.

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert Police Lieutenant Jeff Hammons “pulled the pin” on Tuesday, retiring from the police department he has served with distinction for the past three decades.

Hammons, who first became a police officer on April 17, 1988, said he will never forget the day he was promoted to sergeant. Not many others will either, since it was September 11, 2001, the day of the infamous 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Lt. Hammons noted that Police Chief Joel Hammond was also promoted to his current position on the same day.

“It wasn’t planned that way; the promotions were set for that day, and the terrorist attack happened,” Lt. Hammons said, adding that 9/11 was a “huge turning point” in his career, and still affects him and other officers 17 years later. “We had that (9/11) going on and we had to get through our promotions (as well).”

He also cited the Rodney King shooting in Los Angeles as another incident that affected Van Wert and other police departments. Locally, it led to the development of a “use of force” policy for the department. Lt. Hammons said he participated in the creation of the policy, which he said was done when most other police departments didn’t yet have such a policy.

“We were advanced in that area; we were progressive in that regard,” he said.

Over his career, Lt. Hammons has filled a number of roles in the police department, including defensive tactics instructor, field training officer, and was the first leader of the department’s Special Response Team in 2004.

He was promoted to lieutenant on February 15, 2015, when then lieutenant Kurt Conn decided to step down, for personal reasons.

Lt. Hammons said that situation was a tough one for him, being newly married and faced with the choice of remaining a sergeant, but probably having to move to second shift while his new wife was working the day shift, or study for the lieutenant’s exam and seek the promotion to lieutenant.

Ultimately, he decided to move into the more responsible position rather than remain a sergeant.

The lieutenant said he has had a number of mentors while serving in the department. He especially talked about former city police officer Dennis Wagonrod, who was his field training officer when he was hired into the department.

“Denny is the quintessential professional police officer, and obviously I learned a lot from him,” Hammons said, noting that some of the training techniques he uses today harken back to Wagonrod’s training regimen.

Two lieutenants, Calvin Mengerink and Tom Bartz, were also excellent role models and mentors. Lt. Hammons said he was always impressed with Mengerink’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Ohio Revised Code, noting that any time he had a question on state law, Mengerink was the person he went to.

As to retirement, Hammons said he plans to take it easy this summer, but will then likely look for a new challenge on another career path.

To fill the vacancy created with Hammons’ retirement, VWPD Sergeant Jim Haggerty has been promoted to lieutenant, while Officer Brandi Dershem becomes the first-ever woman sergeant in the department.