Chief of Police
Joseph Petruch

Chief Petruch is a 1973 graduate of Merrillville High School.  His current assignment as Chief follows 3 years as Assistant Chief. He served with the U.S. Marines and prior Law enforcement experience with the Gary Police Department. He has been with the Merrillville Police Department since 1979.

Assistant Chief of Police
James Donohue

Assistant Chief Donohue has been with the Merrillville Police Department since 1982. His current assignment as Assistant Chief of Police follows experience as a Patrol Officer, Patrol Shift Supervisor, Patrol Commander, Operations Commander and Commander of Support Services.  Assistant Chief Donohue is a 4.0 GPA graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command class 182 where he was class Treasurer and  recipient of the prestigious Kreml Leadership award. He has been certified by the National Institute for Truth Verification as a Computer Voice Stress Examiner. Some of his current duties include Grant Coordinator, Information Technology Manager, I.L.E.A. certified Instructor, Department Training Coordinator and Records Management systems.

Operations Commander
Lance Huish

Commander Lance Huish is a 1975 graduate of Merrillville High School. He began serving the Town of Merrillville as a dispatcher for the police department in 1977 and was hired as an officer in 1979. Lance has served in most aspects of the department, starting as a dispatcher, patrol officer, detective, patrol supervisor, Chief of Police, a second tour in the detective bureau and now his present position of Department Commander. As Department Commander Lance supervises the daily operations of the patrol and detective divisions of the department.

Support Services Commander
Dave Barron