Former Sheriff Dan Stevens, To Retire After Nearly 5 Decades As Public Servant

Dan Stevens has been serving our community for nearly 50 years.

Listening. Using common sense. And doing his best to help others.

That’s been his philosophy for the past 49-½ years.

“I hope I helped to make a difference,” said the 71-year-old Noblesville man, a two-term former Hamilton County Sheriff.

For the past 14 years, he has served as the director of administration for the Hamilton County Commissioners. He’ll retire on Friday.

The community is invited to attend Stevens’ retirement party from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 29, in the Commissioners’ Courtroom in the Hamilton County Government & Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville.

I have always thought Stevens to be a man of few words. But when I asked him to share about his life and career, he eagerly opened up and started telling stories.

Stevens took his first job with the Sheriff’s Department in 1974 when the Hamilton County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence was on the Courthouse Square, the current location of the Hamilton County Museum of History and Old Sheriff’s Residence, which is operated by the 60-year-old Hamilton County Historical Society.

Stevens never expected to be a public servant when he was growing up.

He was born on a Naval Base in Port Hueneme, Calif. His father, who graduated from Tunnelton High School in southern Indiana, was in the U.S. Navy and attending SeaBee training. His mother was a native of Ventura, Calif. “They met, fell in love, married, and a few months later, there I was,” Stevens said. His immediate family’s military history includes his brother, who made a career in the Coast Guard; his oldest sister was in the U.S. Air Force; and his Uncle Gene on his dad’s side of the family served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Stevens was 9 months old when his parents moved from California back to Indiana. Most of his side of the family settled in the Mitchell and Bedford area.

His family moved to Westfield around 1958. His dad worked for Curtis Dyna products, and the company had just moved from Mitchell to Westfield, and built a new factory along U.S. 31 by the railroad tracks that used to cross 31 south of Ind. 32.

Stevens attended first grade at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and from there Brebeuf Jesuit College Prep his freshman, sophomore and first nine weeks of his junior year. He graduated in 1970 from Westfield High School. (While at Mount Carmel, he enjoyed participating first in the Cub Scouts and then the Boy Scout Troop No. 125.)

Summers in Westfield were spent either playing baseball on the old high school ball field (where the new Westfield hospital stands today) or riding bicycles through the back roads to Hillside Beach Club out on Indiana 32. “When you got old enough to drive, summer jobs became a priority.” He pumped gas at Snyder Gas Station on U.S. 31 and bagged concrete at Sakrete.

While at Westfield High School, he discovered an interest in theater. His English literature teacher, Mr. Tozer, showed some interest in a couple of essays that Stevens wrote in class. Following additional conversations, Stevens attended a reading for the upcoming high school theater production of “The Mouse That Roared,” for which he was cast in the lead role of Tulley Bascom, and several weeks later the production opened to a full house.

“The experience impressed me enough to start down a path of journalism and theater at IUPUI in the fall of 1970.” He attended IUPUI for three semesters. During that time, he was cast as Bo Decker in the “Bus Stop” stage play (Don Murray played Bo Decker in the 1956 film adaption of the play opposite Marilyn Monroe). In the summer of 1972, Stevens and another cast mate traveled to Los Angeles for an opportunity to attend the Actors Studio (the original Actor’s Studio opened in New York City in 1951 with acting teacher Lee Strasburg as director; the LA studio opened in 1966.) The school was known for training notables, Dustin Hoffman, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Anne Bancroft. “I never met Mr. Strasberg. I attended classes for several weeks but eventually stuck to my day job at Great American Insurance,” Stevens said. “Met a lot of great people during my time in LA and saw some beautiful parts of California.”

I asked if he ever met anyone famous. Stevens replied by telling a story that qualifies. His great Uncle Andrew Jauregui, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979. The uncle was a world champion steer roper in 1931 and a world champion team roper in 1934 and lived on a ranch in New Hall, Calif. While living in California, Stevens attended a funeral for Uncle Andrew’s sister. “Standing outside the church with the family members, a large red and white Cadillac Eldorado pulls up and out steps Ben Johnson, who made his name in many westerns and also won an Academy Award for his performance in ‘The Last Picture Show’ in 1971,” Stevens said. “I had the chance to say ‘hi’ and shake his hand. Made my day.” (While Stevens didn’t follow the theater path, he continued his interest in theater in recent years and is now a current member of the board of directors for Hamilton County Theatre Guild’s The Belfry Theatre, celebrating its 58th season.)

After returning home on Thanksgiving weekend 1973, after two years of living in California, Stevens began searching for employment. His dad made arrangements for Stevens to interview with Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Sue Shields, who was pleasant but had no openings. “She did, however, suggest I talk to Sheriff Larry Cook, who was looking for help in the jail,” Stevens said. That afternoon, he interviewed with the Sheriff. “At the end of the conversation, he agreed to try me out as a dispatcher and jailer (in those days, one person did both jobs) on one condition …. I needed a haircut.”

Being that Sheriff Cook was “a man with a strong personality,” Stevens knew what Cook wanted. “So I made the wise decision to not attempt to explain that I had just left the barber shop that morning in preparation for my interview with the Judge. I made a return visit to my barber, Bill Dennis, my old Little League coach, and explained the situation. He chuckled, fired up his clippers and went to work. He did not charge me for the second trim,” he said. The next morning, on Jan. 25, 1974, Stevens went to work at the Sheriff’s Office and County Jail, which was then located on the Courthouse Square. The building, now known as the Old Jail and Sheriff’s Residence, is home of the Hamilton County Historical Society.

For the next 35 years, he spent many a day and night as a public servant learning the behind-the-scenes elements of public safety and problem solving.

In the beginning, he worked eight-hour days, six days on, two days off, rotation. As the rookie, he got the 2/2/2 rotation, two day shifts, two afternoon shifts, two night shifts.

“Trial by fire could literally define my first summer answering the phone, working the radio and booking in a prisoner or two when local law enforcement arrived with an arrest,” Stevens said.

One early evening started with a report of a drowning in a fishing pit east of Arcadia. The responding deputy asked for Marion County’s Dive Team, which was a common practice back then. One of the responding team members was JD Moore, Marion County Sheriff’s Department, “a good man with a radio announcer voice especially when responding to an emergency detail. He was asking for directions to the scene of the incident. Not knowing the specific geography east of Arcadia at that time, I played three-way conversation between the deputy on the scene and JD. Just as the radio traffic got interesting, two Marion County inmates housed in our jail because their murder case had been transferred to Hamilton County, decided they wanted to set a small fire in their cell and started banging on the metal walls,” Stevens said. “You learn pretty quick how to set priorities and make a decision. As soon as the Noblesville Police and Fire Departments arrived, I felt a little less stressed. You learn early in public safety that when the help call goes out, the troops come charging.”

After a couple of years of dispatching, jail work and serving papers on his off hours, Stevens was given the opportunity to move from a civilian employee to a sworn officer position. His car number, at the time as the low man on the totem pole, was 29-12 (29 represented Hamilton County, 12 represented the unit number).

He worked patrol 1976-78. When Bob Chandler was elected Sheriff and took office in 1979, Chandler asked Stevens to serve as Chief Deputy.

“The department was beginning to grow now in response to the increased population and the Department’s move to Cumberland Road to a new jail built in 1976 under Sheriff Cook. It was a significant change in job responsibilities going from road deputy, to second in command,” he said.

Stevens started back to school in 1978 and spent the next five years earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In 1986, Stevens had the opportunity to attend the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., which he described as “a great experience that helped me to further develop my planning and management skills.”

What did he remember most about his years as a public servant? “Some of the memorable moments of the job included when I spoke to students,” Stevens said.

And what were the most-asked questions by kids when he was sheriff?

“I never had one ask if I had shot anyone, but I was asked occasionally if I had pulled the weapon out of the holster,” he said. “During my career, I could probably count a dozen or so times that I pulled my weapon during an on-duty situation … I never fired my weapon while on duty except to down an injured animal because circumstances required that action.”

One of the more unusual demonstrations of skill while in uniform was at the Hamilton County 4-H Fair during his tenure as sheriff. “I was asked in front of a very large crowd with many children if I would participate in milking a goat. You don’t say ‘no’ in a situation like that so there I am, in full uniform, kneeling on the ground reaching under this very nervous goat attempting to withdraw some milk. I had fun and, of course, the picture was in the paper the next day.”

Early on in his career at the Sheriff’s Department, Stevens and the late former Noblesville Chief of Police Dick Russell developed a great friendship. They both joined the Sheriff’s Department about three days apart. Russell, who became a mentor, had been a police officer at a couple of other locations, “so I found his words of wisdom to be helpful when I had questions,” Stevens said. “I considered him a mentor and like a brother. He was best man when Peg and I got married (in May 1977) … He taught me to understand that in our business, you treat other people the way you want to be treated: Maintain safety, be vigilant, firm when necessary, and compassionate when appropriate. He also taught me you have to have a sense of humor to do the work we do. I loved that man like a brother and still miss him.”

About a dozen years after he started with the Sheriff’s Department, he decided to run as an election candidate for Sheriff.

“Leading up to the last year of Sheriff Chandler’s second term, I had discussed with Peg, family members, my father and with Sheriff Chandler my interest in running for Sheriff. They all gave encouragement which helped me finalize the decision,” Stevens said.

Stevens ran for Sheriff for his first term against Larry Cook. Stevens won and took office on Jan. 1, 1987.

“When I got elected, Dick Russell answered my request for him to serve as Chief Deputy,” he said.

At the time, the jail had a capacity of 110 beds. Current capacity is more than 500 beds. Sheriff’s Office staffing in 1987 was 75, add maybe another dozen with dispatch operations. Today, the Sheriff’s Office is about 220 strong. Add in the 911 Center and there are another nearly 90 employees.

For his second term, he ran for election unopposed.

He ran a third time, when several candidates were on the ballot for Sheriff, including Doug Carter, who won that race and who then became his superior. “I enjoyed working with him,” Stevens said of the now Indiana State Police Superintendent.

What were the biggest news events when Stevens was Sheriff? The Allemenos triple homicide (in Carmel) was probably the one event that most shocked the community,” he said. “The tenacious and dedicated work of the detectives and street personnel from Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, State Police, Carmel Police Department and Marion County enabled a swift and solid arrest of the perpetrators. Within 48 hours, the suspects were in custody. It was a total team effort.”

What else? “The first visit of the Grateful Dead got some headlines,” Stevens said. “The group came back the next several years, and we dealt with it.”

At the time when Stevens was Sheriff, the County Commissioners were Phil Henderson, Jere Roudebush and Peg Goldberg. (Commissioners Steve Holt and Steve Dillinger took office in January 1989.)

During his years as sheriff, he said, his team accomplished some significant goals:

-The county-wide 911 system was implemented. “This required changing all of the rural-route addresses to street numbers and names,” he said. That change was handled by the Sheriff’s Department.

-Public safety radio communications were combined into a shared multi-channel system.

-The new Adult Jail and Juvenile Detention Center were constructed and occupied.

-The DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program was initiated in schools that the county served.

-The process for CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) accreditation began and was ultimately completed during Carter’s administration.

-“One of the most enduring services we started was the Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Program,” Stevens said. In 2023, the program will celebrate its 30th year. “Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the late Tom Burton, Mark Fidler, all of the volunteer chaplains and the supporting Sheriff’s and staff that followed me and ensured the program stayed strong.”

Following Stevens’ retirement from the Sheriff’s Department, in October 2009, Commissioner Dillinger asked Stevens to come to work for the Commissioners due to Fred Swift retiring. “My project work on the jail addition and remodel was coming to a close so the thought intrigued me. I talked it over with Peg and the next day told the Commissioner, ‘yes’ I would be interested. Thirteen-and-a-half years later, I have not regretted a minute of the work … Developing relationships with the multiple jurisdictions, the business community, the schools, coordinating our own county officials to meet their needs makes every morning an interesting beginning to the day. Being a small part of the solutions has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience,” Stevens said.

Stevens announced his March 31, 2023, retirement a year ago. His replacement is former Hamilton County Prosecutor D. Lee Buckingham II, who has been onboarding since February, and will hit the ground running, said Stevens, who has been his adviser to answer questions. Buckingham was sitting in Stevens’ office chair getting his feet when I visited Stevens’ office last week.

He said, “The best part of my job, in any of the positions I have served — Sheriff, Chief Deputy, Division Commander overseeing the jail, Director of Administration — was having the opportunity to make something good happen.” Stevens’ law enforcement career exposed him to many different types of people, situations, personalities and challenges. “I always described a problem as an opportunity to excel,” he said.

In retirement, he plans to do some traveling, camping and summer drives with his neighbors in their convertibles.

He and his wife Peg in May will celebrate 46 years of marriage. They have two children, R.D. Stevens and Keri Braun, and five grandchildren. His hobbies are ancestry research with his wife and “watching snaps sent to her of her grandchildren.” He enjoys a quiet game of golf, home projects in the house and yard and Indianapolis Colts football games. “We enjoy watching grandkids in their activities and swimming in the neighbor’s pool.”

What makes him smile? “Watching a beautiful sunset from a balcony or quiet beach,” Stevens said. “I am happiest in life when surrounded by our children and grandchildren.”

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact Betsy Reason at [email protected].