Jeff Hoag and Axel, May 2024

All 16 years- Indiana Borough Police Department- started in 2008

Currently- K9 Division and Patrol Sergeant 7a-7p, handler for Comfort K9 Axel, TAC Officer CLEAN/NCIC, police department social media

Previously at IBPD- Patrolman, Patrolman First Class, Field Training Officer

I feel it’s a subconscious calling to want to help people, especially in their time of desperate need. Growing up I realized that police officers were leaders in their community who could quickly respond to a variety of different emergencies and calls, and I really wanted to be a part of something like that. Taking an oath to protect lives and property in our Indiana community is a tremendous honor to me. Probably most important is having strong support and trust from the community and Indiana delivers that to its police officer and first responders! Plus, everyday is different and you never know what is going to happen next…I find that exciting!

On September 11, 2001, I was in 10h grade and I remember watching the World Trade Center terrorist attacks while we were at school on TV. They dismissed us early from school to go home and I remember watching the news on TV with my parents in the following hours and days. There was video footage of police officers, firefighters, medics, and every day people running towards danger and helping and saving people. I figured if I could get into a career where I had the opportunity to help people in that capacity I would be happy. That’s when I chose to be a police officer.

There have been so many great moments it’s hard to list all of them… The relationships I’ve built with my co-workers is special to me. Working in a profession where you support and rely on one another to keep each other mentally and physically safe, but also realizing that your lives may be sacrificed is unique. When I was promoted to Sergeant in 2021 and taking the responsibility of leading fellow officers is a daily honor and reminder of that. Just as important and equally gratifying is the positive relationships K9 Axel and I have established throughout the Indiana community. Our partnership with the Indiana Area School District is special in that we are able to drop in and spend time talking with students and staff throughout all the different school buildings while providing an enhanced layer of school safety. Meeting kids and listening to them tell me stories from their nights and weekends like we are close long-time friends is a reminder of how important trust is between police officers and their communities. I’ve learned that kids look at police officers like their protectors and heroes and its vitally important to continue to earn and protect that.

Without a doubt that hardest part of being a police officer has been the work and home life balance. Having to be at work and missing holiday celebrations, birthday parties, family vacations, or just fun activities that are going on is terrible. My wife, Natalie, is an emergency room nurse and subject to the same scheduling battle, demands and stresses. Having the loving support of Natalie, and our two children, Makenzie (10) and Tanner (6) helps bolster the work mandates.

Across the nation overall officer safety and physical and mental wellness continues to be crucial and continuing to find ways in order to support and establish those supportive efforts is financially challenging.

What attracted you to working with the K9 unit?

I’ve simply always loved dogs when I was a kid and adult. In 2020, nationwide uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted negative police and community interactions and incidents were occurring. In collaboration with Chief Schawl the idea of having a Comfort K9 evolved in order to help regain and enhance trust in our community. At that time the last thing we thought IBPD needed was to create a new K9 program and bring on a traditional dog that could apprehend and bite suspects or search for drugs that could potentially create more police and community separation and division. After significant community support, we were able to establish our IBPD K9 division by bringing K9 Axel aboard and having him train to become a therapy dog, which eventually and relatively quickly expanded into K9 Scout and PFC Clawson expanding our regional police services with their search and rescue capabilities. I realized early on in the development stages that this was going to be a unique and special service to the community and being able to lead those efforts is an honor!