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Muncie Local and State Trooper Vie for Assistant Chief

The two candidates for University Police Department assistant police chief come from different backgrounds. One is a lifetime Muncie local who has served Muncie Police Department for years and the other has had a full career in the Indiana State police.

Allen Williams and Mike Nichols, respectively, each had a forum this week to introduce themselves to the search committee and UPD officers and talk about issues surrounding college policing.

Matt Kovach, Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life said the search committee will compile feedback from the meetings, along with a list of pros and cons from each candidate and present it to Chief James Duckham.

Kovach said he thinks Duckham may make his decision on his assistant in the next week.

Allen Williams:

  • From Daleville, Indiana
  • Ball State graduate
  • Daughter is a Ball State Junior
  • Worked for MPD since 1990

Williams has been part of the greater Muncie community his whole life and after 25 years with MPD, he wants to bring his service to Ball State

“Campus has the same issues we have in Muncie,” he said. “If [campus] has a burglary, we might have 10 [in Muncie].”

Williams stressed the results he has seen with community involvement at MPD and how that can be applied in the university setting, like UPD’s push for community policing, which Duckham has emphasized in his time at Ball State.

There were issues in Muncie parks with youth over the summer and he said they dealt with it by meeting with parents and talking to community groups, instead of just waiting to discipline offenders.

“It’s dealing with the problem itself,” he said, “instead of a Band-Aid approach, which doesn’t break the cycle.”

When police officers interact with people normally, it can be a negative experience, Williams said, so officers should be proactive before negative things happen.

“It’s just being people oriented. We’re all here for the students,” he said. “The majority of law enforcement officers are there to do the right thing. We have to bridge that gap to make sure they know we are all on the same team.”

Even if police officers interact with just 10 students in a positive way each day, that is 10 more students with a better understanding of the police, he said.

Mike Nichols:

  • Indiana State University graduate
  • One child Ball State graduate, another will be a freshman next year
  • Graduate of FBI National Academy 10-week program
  • Indiana State Police since 1988

Nichols career with the Indiana State Police has taken him through a variety of experiences from traffic officer to district commander of a former district that encompassed Delaware County to his current position with statewide strategic safety planning.

He said he wants to use his training to change pace with his career.

“I think I have a lot to offer with my training and experience,” he said. “[There is a] learning curve, learning the university way but I have been across that road before with the different jobs I have had. Every time I have switched jobs it’s been a challenge and I welcome that challenge.”

He said police officers, like faculty and staff are similar to surrogate parents on a college campus and the college campus is an opportunity to educate the student body at this time in their lives.

“Me as a trooper right now, its write a ticket, put the cuffs on them or ‘You’re going to jail,’” he said. “There are other things here to give people a second chance.”

Police officers can identify problems in a community but they need to reach out to the campus community for feedback as well, he said.

“Everybody has different issues,” he said. “Some issues may be easy to fix but other issues may take a more concerted effort. [It’s] reaching out to everybody and identifying those different problems to affect change in those areas.” 

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