Whitaker to lead District 2 law enforcement

Indiana DNR Release:

Gary Whitaker, an 18-year officer with the DNR Division of Law Enforcement, has been promoted to Lieutenant in District 2, a nine-county area of northeast Indiana.

As the top-ranking officer in the district, Whitaker will be responsible for administrative duties and supervision of 19 Indiana conservation officers.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to lead the officers in District 2 and can assure the public that our officers are committed to ensuring the safe and responsible use of our state’s natural resources,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker, 41, has spent the last five years in the Investigation Section of DNR Law Enforcement. Prior to that, he was a field officer for 13 year in Allen and LaGrange counties.

He is a certified instructor in river rescue and has completed training in several specialty areas, including boat accident investigation and homicide investigation. Whitaker is a 1990 graduate of Vincennes University, where he majored in law enforcement. He joined the DNR in October 1992 and was a 1993 honors graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

District 2 is headquartered in Columbia City. It is one of 10 DNR Law Enforcement districts and includes Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley counties.

DNR's Law Enforcement Division employs 214 conservation officers who serve the public and protect the natural heritage of Indiana. Founded in 1897, the Law Enforcement Division is the oldest state law enforcement agency, and one of the most diverse.

In addition to enforcing state laws, Indiana conservation officers are active in a variety of non-enforcement activities, such as boater, snowmobile, hunter and trapper education programs, the Karl Kelley Youth Camp, and the Becoming an Outdoors Woman programs. They also are trained and assigned to specialty response units, including river rescue, cave rescue, underwater search and recovery, and K-9 teams.