THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 37, Number 1 Thursday, January 14, 2021 Serve & Protect by Andrew Tallackson Bob Sulkowski is photographed by The Beacher’s Andrew Tallackson at his desk in Long Beach Police Department. Bob Sulkowski can pinpoint the exact moment he On one particular evening, someone was break- became interested in police work. ing into a home on Birchwood Trail. Ed was at Budd He was 12. His father, Ed, was Michiana Shores’ Corp., so the family called the sheriff’s offi ce, which part-time marshal, balancing those duties with asked if Bob could show them where the house was. full-time work as a welder at Budd Corp., a metal- The eager 12-year-old jumped at the opportunity. stamping plant in Gary. As marshal, there was no Jim Arnold, then a sergeant with the department, dispatch center or police radio. Calls came directly picked up Bob about two blocks from his home. The to Ed’s home phone. And if Ed was at Budd Corp. youngster then showed Arnold where the burglary when an emergency call arrived, the family quickly was reported. notifi ed the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Offi ce. Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 January 14, 2021 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 Beacher Company Directory e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] Don and Tom Montgomery Owners email: Classifieds - [email protected] Andrew Tallackson Editor http://www.thebeacher.com/ Drew White Print Salesman PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by Janet Baines Inside Sales/Customer Service T Becky Wirebaugh Typesetter/Designer T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Randy Kayser Pressman Dora Kayser Bindery Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is Hope Costello, Jacquie Quinlan Production also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. John Baines, Karen Gehr, Dennis Mayberry Delivery versation or relationship with the citizens of the Serve & Protect Continued from Page 1 town, things are only going to be as good as the po- The suspects may have left by the time police ar- lice work you can do.” rived, but for Bob, the incident triggered a fascina- Bob, 62, sat down with The Beacher a few weeks tion with law enforcement that never diminished. It before his fi nal day on the job to talk about his life only intensifi ed over the years. in law enforcement, and the people who infl uenced On Jan. 8, Bob retired after 38 years with Long him along the way. Beach Police Department. Mark Swistek, who Born at St. Anthony Hospital to Ed and Mary boasts a long and respected career with Michigan Jane Sulkowski, Bob graduated from Elston High City Police Department, is his successor. School in 1977. Before then, his father was one of Bob’s career refl ected a devotion to making sure his greatest infl uences. In addition to being Michi- residents felt safe in their cozy, beachside commu- ana Shores marshal, Ed also served with its volun- nities. Now, small towns are not immune to the re- teer fi re department. Bob liked to hang around the alities of the outside world. As chief in Long Beach, fi re house, also starting the fi rst Junior Fire De- Bob has been part of every type of investigation: partment. He would ride with his dad while he was burglaries, theft, armed robbery, rape, drunk driv- out patrolling the community. After learning from ing, juvenile drinking parties, even homicides. But a friend about Michigan City Police Department’s his tenure with Long Beach also has seen a decrease police cadet program, he became involved with Ex- in burglaries, increased beach safety involving per- plorer Post 75 in May 1972. sonal watercrafts and concerted efforts to make the (Bob remains friends with many of the offi cers police department compliant with the Americans who participated in the cadet program. He still has With Disabilities Act. breakfast with them every Thursday morning.) And by developing a strong, respected police force Bob also spent a good deal of time with Vern that includes full-time, part-time and reserve offi - Magnuson, who was chief of the Michiana Police cers, the department has cultivated a rapport with Department and a retired sergeant with Michigan the community that emphasizes teamwork in solv- State Police. Bob would ride with Magnuson while ing crimes. on patrol, listening to hours of stories about police “I think small town policing is unique in the way work. Bob also rode with offi cers from MCPD. you have to treat people, because they are your In 1972, Long Beach Police Department offi cially wealth of information,” he said. “Without the con- took over the contract for police protection in Michi- This undated photo shows the police vehicle driven by Bob’s father, Ed. Bob still has the Mars Light The vehicle was a 1971 Mercury Monterey. used on his father’s police vehicle. THE January 14, 2021 Page 3 ana Shores. In 1976, when Bob turned 18, he joined the Michiana Shores Volunteer Fire Department. Four years later, Lynn Papke, a Village of Michiana 2020 INDIANA (Mich.) offi cer, asked Bob if he would serve with the Grand Beach Police Department. That began a two- LAKEFRONT: year stint with the police force there, along with an A VERY GOOD YEAR; enduring friendship with Long Beach offi cer Jim Kautz. NOT GREAT It was in 1982 that Bob became aware of an open- ,MXVW¿QLVKHGWKHUHSRUWIRUWKHPLOHV ing for deputy marshal in Long Beach. He was hired DORQJ/DNH0LFKLJDQLQ0LFKLJDQIURPWKH on July 28, 1982, attending the Indiana Law En- ,QGLDQD VWDWH OLQH WR :DUUHQ 'XQHV 6WDWH forcement Academy in January 1983. Back then, of- 3DUNZHVWRI,7KHQXPEHURIUHVLGHQWLDO fi cers worked in 24-hour shifts: 12 hours on patrol, VDOHVLQFUHDVHGIRUYHUVXV another 12 on house duty. The 12-hour shift still ad- DQG WKH WRWDO 9ROXPH LQFUHDVHG LQ RYHU,WDSSHDUVWKHKLJKHUHQG hered to today began in May 1988. SULFHUDQJHGLGEHWWHUWKDQWKHORZHUHQG Bob became Long Beach’s chief marshal in Janu- EDVHGRQWKHKLJKHU9ROXPHLQFUHDVHDQG ary 1998. Today, Long Beach’s police department WKH IDFW WKDW WKH DYHUDJH SULFH LQFUHDVHG has fi ve full-time offi cers, nine part-time offi cers PRUHWKDQWKHPHGLDQSULFH and six reserve offi cers. The latter are volunteers, 6R , KDG WR VHH ZKDW KDSSHQHG RQ WKH but experience the same training in all aspects of ,QGLDQD ODNHIURQW GH¿QHG DV WKH DUHD police work as the paid staff. EHWZHHQ 86 DQG WKH ODNH IURP 'XQH $FUHVWRWKH0LFKLJDQVWDWHOLQH,LQFOXGHG WKH ³H[SLUHGV´ WR JHW VRPH LGHD RI WKH VLJQL¿FDQFHRISULFHRQZKDWGLGQRWVHOO ! # '/ ',' #*(+ #*.) #--!. '-- '/ .- #+&& #,-* #+.!, ()' (& (&) #**) #+(' #'&+!- /. (& ,* #+)/ #,.' #*)!, '.( 7KH QXPEHU RI VDOHV LQFUHDVHG E\ IRUYHUVXV9ROXPHLQFUHDVHG E\ 7ZR SKHQRPHQDO LQFUHDVHV IRU DQ\ PDUNHW EXW VLJQL¿FDQWO\ OHVV WKDQ WKH 0LFKLJDQ QXPEHUV 7KHUH LV QRW PXFK GLIIHUHQFH EHWZHHQ WKH PHGLDQ DQGDYHUDJHSULFHLQFUHDVHVVRZKLOHWKH 9ROXPHQXPEHULQGLFDWHVWKHXSSHUSULFH Bob is photographed by The Beacher’s Andrew Tallackson SURSHUWLHV GLG EHWWHU WKDQ ORZHUSULFHG standing by photos of the Long Beach Police force. RQHVWKHPHGLDQDYHUDJHFRPSDULVRQVGR QRW VXSSRUW WKDW WKHVLV %RWWRP OLQH WKH “Countless hours, they volunteer for this depart- LQFUHDVHLQYDOXHZDVPRUHHYHQO\VSUHDG ment,” Bob said, “from extra patrols on the week- RYHU DOO SULFH UDQJHV LQ ,QGLDQD WKDQ LQ ends, to beach patrol, marine patrol, not to mention 0LFKLJDQ the Fourth of July week.” 'D\V RQ 0DUNHW GURSSHG EHWZHHQ Ask Bob about key investigations or memorable DQG7KDWLVVLJQL¿FDQW1XPEHU H[SLUHGVGURSSHG6LJQRILQYHQWRU\ incidents over the course of his 38-year career with WLJKWHQLQJ" 7KH GLIIHUHQFHV EHWZHHQ WKH Long Beach and the stories are priceless. PHGLDQDYHUDJHVROGDQGPHGLDQDYHUDJH Take, for instance, the time he was on patrol in H[SLUHG SULFHV VXSSRUW WKH WKHVLV WKDW May 1987. He heard about an ambulance on its way ³SULFH´ZDVWKHUHDVRQZK\WKRVHH[SLUHG to a home on Roslyn Trail. A woman was in labor. SURSHUWLHVGLGQRWVHOO “So, I headed over there and when I pulled up in ZDV YHU\ D JRRG \HDU IRU ,QGLDQD front of the house, a lady came running out of the ODNHIURQWEXWQRWDVJUHDWDVWKH0LFKLJDQ PDUNHW ULJKW QH[W GRRU 7KDW SX]]OHV PH house and said, ‘Get in here now.’ The mother was harbor country (PDLO\RXUWKHRULHVRI³ZK\´ lying on the couch and she was giving birth,” Bob recalled. “She had already crowned, and the baby O: 269.469.5635 Ext. 302 was on its way. Just after the baby landed in my C: 269.612.0505 arms, wrapped in a towel, EMS arrived. Dan Coffey E: [email protected] “I am still friends with the parents, even though W: www.remaxhc.com they have moved away.” Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 January 14, 2021 buoys along the beach, specifi cally to remind those Serve & Protect Continued from Page 3 using personal watercrafts to slow down around swimmers. Bob presented a proposal to Long Beach Bob recalls other incidents from the 1980s, spe- Civic Association, which purchased the buoys. He cifi cally a crew of individuals committing armed also contacted B&E Marine about borrowing a per- robberies. At one point, they robbed a liquor store sonal watercraft to patrol the lakeshore. The busi- in the town center, a gun fi ring off in the process. ness agreed, leading to the creation of the depart- A countywide task force subsequently was formed. ment’s Marine Patrol. Then one night, Long Beach police were following The civic association’s support, Bob says, has two suspects in the string of robberies. Detectives been crucial over the years. were involved, a road block erected. When the sus- “They have made many large purchases for the pects saw police, Bob said, they headed into a fi eld.