Law Enforcement Appreciation Month - A Salute to George Ballard

from Small Town Living in Gibson County

The Cooking Corner

A Sheriff Like No Other: George Ballard’s Trailblazing Career in County Law Enforcement

Story: Jennifer MacKay

When you think County Sheriff, who do you think of? No, I am not talking about the most recent election in November. I would bet many of you remember having George Ballard as their County Sheriff, elected to oversee the safety of our County.

George Ballard is a lifelong resident of Gibson County, where together with his wife Linda, proudly raised their three kids. He is known for his commitment to community policing and his efforts to build positive relationships between law enforcement and local residents.

Starting out, George went to college for marketing. But thanks to his good friend Nick Michas, who was a deputy sheriff at that time, his future was about to change. Nick asked George if he wanted to ride along on third shift and see what it was like. George agreed, went along, and then went on another ride along.

From then on, he knew he was hooked!

George officially started his law enforcement career in June 1972, as a special deputy under Sheriff John Solly Mitchell. He then came on full time as a deputy sheriff in 1975. During this time, he also filled in as a Fort Branch town Marshall, while still working as a special deputy within the County Sheriff’s Department.

In January 1976, he went on to attend the police academy, rose through the ranks becoming Sergeant, on to Captain, and eventually served as Chief Deputy for Sheriff Roger Emmert. He won his first Sheriff race in 1982, which led to two terms as Sheriff. It was a crowded primary election that year and he had to run against his good friend Nick Michas. They remained friends despite the election.

When those terms ended, he went back to captain and for a short time served as director of Gibson County Ambulance Service. He ran for Sheriff again once he was eligible, and won, serving his third and fourth terms in office. He then served as chief deputy under Sheriff Allen Harmon for eight years. When he ran in 2011, he became Sheriff for his fifth and final term.

After semi-retiring at the end of 2014, George became a school resource officer, mostly in Haubstadt. He made sure to mention, “You would never go hungry at the Haubstadt school. It was a lot of fun, and there was always someone bringing in food.”

Ballard’s dedication to improving law enforcement was evident in his efforts to modernize the department. He oversaw the installation of new technology, such as dash cams and body cameras, to increase accountability and transparency. He also invested in training programs to ensure that his officers were well-equipped to handle the complex and ever-changing demands of law enforcement.

In 1989, the basic 911 was implemented. Until then, if you needed Emergency Services you dialed a sevendigit number which had different answering points. Then in 1999, they switched to enhanced 911, which gives the address where the call is coming from. We were also one of the early departments in Indiana, to have laptop computers in police vehicles to run reports and license checks. Some deputies struggled at first, but after a few years, they didn’t want to operate without the new technology.

During his extensive law enforcement career, George has seen the department go through many changes. The jail system was not as full as it is currently. He recalled days when they had no one in the jail at all, or times when five to six inmates were a lot. Now they have on average 100+ inmates at any given time.

One of the biggest challenges for law enforcement today is simply retaining good people. Back in the ’70’s and ’80’s, people would pick a career and stick with it. Now people tend to jump around, always looking for better benefits and pay, in all careers.

De-escalation training is very important. PTSD is a larger issue these days and law enforcement is getting training – realizing it is a real problem, what signs to look for, and how to approach people. George prefers to approach people in a friendly manner and recognizes that sometimes someone just needs counseling, understanding and help. Not everyone has to go to jail. There used to be a state hospital that held more people, but it went from 500 to 50, so they end up in the county jails. Jails become correctional and a mental health facility, but don’t have funding to hire mental health personnel. The state is working on this issue, but it still requires the funding and it’s not a fast process.

George spoke of how his wife Linda and children have been very supportive of his career and political choices. One of the understandings is he “would never run for Sheriff without his wife and family’s support.” You need your family because if everything doesn’t go well, you need that support to get through those times. Even the campaigning process is like another job, so having your family with you and behind you is important.

The Ballards’ raised three kids in Gibson County and all live in the area. His son Roger followed in his footsteps and serves as the Sheriff’s Department’s Detective. Roger is tasked with investigating murders and more serious crimes in the County. George said his son loves what he does, but it takes a special kind of person to investigate some of those types of crimes. George is not sure if Roger has aspirations of becoming County Sheriff, but time will tell.

Hearing George share stories about his family and especially his grandchildren, just confirms how important family is to the Ballards. Often family visits or events are George’s stress relievers. He said, “Grandkids are the best, maybe even better than raising your own kids!” And of course, he chuckled about getting to spoil the grandkids then send them home to their parents. George also has some hobbies to cope with the craziness his job. He is a collector of train stuff and enjoys adding to his collection. If you knew the Ballards years back, they use to be regular line dancers when it was a big thing. He understands having an outlet to relax and refocus before the next big job issue comes along.

George said he hasn’t had too many “bad cops” while serving as Sheriff, but stated that, “bad cops need dealt with – there are law enforcement that will abuse their power, that should not be tolerated. Body cams and cell phones have changed how things are perceived. Now it’s instant news, two minutes after something happens and its online. Often it looks worse than it is. They tell their officers to remember everyone has a camera and do things correctly. He went on to say, “Technology can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.”

Back when cameras in the patrol vehicles were still a new innovation, he recalled a story where a father came in to the department complaining how his daughter was treated by a deputy during a traffic stop. George offered to see the in-car camera. After reviewing the video, the father seeing how his daughter acted and how the officer acted, he apologized for bothering them.

George said one the most common crimes they tend to respond to involve alcohol. Alcohol is still near the very top, up there with the drug crisis. Both issues affect families and destroys lives. He has had to deliver too many death notifications. Per George, “there is nothing easy about that, and quite possibly the most difficult thing police officers have to do. Unfortunately, it is part of the job.”

Our county jail recently implemented an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program. George went on to say, “if you don’t provide some services to help, jail is more like a Band-Aid. People need help getting off these bad habits to become law abiding, tax paying citizens and keep them out of jail.” He also noted, jail is an expensive operation. It is more cost effective to get people rehabilitated in the long run. He has seen many turn their lives around from drugs and alcohol abuse, so there is hope. He just wishes it never had to happen in the first place.

George feels people are human, “They make stupid mistakes sometimes, and if you can get them away from making those mistakes, they are just like everybody else, they are OK.” He believes if they make a mistake, they do their time, you should still respect them. You shouldn’t give them attitude just because they are in jail. That speaks to his character and integrity.

Something unusual in this area is prostitution.

George continued -

During his career George remembered that in the ’70’s early ’80’s, Gibson County had three massage parlors. They proceeded to set up some undercover operations, raided those establishments, arrested the owners, and shut that down. Prostitution it is not what it used to be.

The most memorable crime scene of his career was the 1978 murder of 14 -year-old Candy Racine. George was the first officer on scene after the call came in from a passing school bus who noticed something odd in a corn field. That same day, within hours of discovering her body, they were able to spot the vehicle that was involved in this crime, question them, and arrest them. But it was a gruesome situation that no one should have to witness.

Sadly, there are many misconceptions about law enforcement. George thinks when people watch TV shows like CSI or similar crime shows, it can give the wrong impression of their abilities. He wanted to note, “Most crimes are not solved in an hour and they expect us to do the same things they do on TV. It takes a lot more time and TV tends to present the wrong idea how fast things can actually happen. Serious crimes for example are extremely complicated to investigate.” Some law enforcement departments have crime scene units. George went on to say, “We are fortunate we don’t have a large murder rate in this area, but we still have them. Our department is not large enough to fund our own crime scene unit, so we must rely on other departments to come in and do the forensic investigating required when necessary.”

During his time in office, George has made significant contributions to law enforcement in the area and gained a reputation as a dedicated and respected leader. George feels one of his biggest accomplishments while Sheriff was helping bring the 911 systems to the County for faster and more effective response time as it developed over the years. Having a central dispatch provides much better communication between first responder departments. He has also been involved with two jail builds which has been a fun learning experience for him.

In the early ’80’s, George was responding to a call of a man being buried in a cave-in where excavation was being done on the streets at the South Side of Princeton. The man was covered in dirt and rubble; George and two Princeton Police officers along with an EMS worker all worked feverishly to dig the man out by hand. The first responders were not able to use shovels due to the risk of hurting the man further. Even with their work caving back in a few times, they were finally able to get him out of danger. George soon after received a Merit award for saving the man’s life. This was the first Merit Award awarded. Since the Merit Board’s beginning in 1972, only one other officer in our County has received one.

His legacy as a leader and a public servant continues to inspire those who knew him and worked alongside him. Known for his dedication to public service and commitment to improving law enforcement, Ballard’s legacy continues to inspire those around him. His most rewarding part of law enforcement George said is, “seeing new people come into the department and be successful.” He likes seeing people get better, get promoted and do better things. George was able to hire some of our most recent Sheriffs of the County.

What are some qualities a person should have for this line of work? George’s answer is, “to be accessible to the community. When you are out in the community and they want to ask a question, take the time to answer their questions, or get the answer and get back to them, and help your community out. The reason you are there is because of the community.” He also added, that you need to “be willing to listen to both sides, don’t make a quick judgment, unless it’s absolutely necessary for safety purposes. On personnel matters and making changes, you need to be able to step back and look at the whole picture – and ask yourself, am I fixing the problem or creating 2 new ones?” And communication with employees is huge in being a good leader.

His advice for anyone interested in law enforcement is, “Go to college”, OCU, USI or VU and get into their criminal justice programs. Many jails are hiring at 18, part time or full time to start, or as a dispatcher. College is not required to be a deputy, but it gives you the extra