ADMININSRATION > Chiefs Admin   Sheriff   Chiefs   Commanders   Deputy Commander   Public Relations Chief of Police Marco Kuyachich Chief Marco Kuyachich is a 29-year veteran of the Lake County Police Department. He has served in numerous divisions within the department. He spent 9 years in patrol and was an investigator in the Automobile Theft Unit before commanding that unit. He has been a K-9 handler, SWAT Team member for 23 years and commanded that specialty unit for 10 of those years. Marco also was a member of the Aquatics Rescue and Recovery unit. January of 1995 he started the Gangs Unit and then commanded the Drug Task Force. He is a graduate from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the Drug Enforcement Administration Commander’s Academy in Quantico, Va. Deputy Chief Kuyachich has attended numerous seminars including Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Chief Kuyachich graduated from Calumet College of St. Joseph where he majored in Political Science and attained a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Management from Indiana Graduate School of Management. He will receive his MBA in Business Administration in December 2006. Marco is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police Chris Anton Lodge #125. He serves as the Indiana State training coordinator for the FOP and as secretary for the FOP labor council. He is also a member of the Lake County Police Association Local #72 AFL-CIO. EXPERIENCE Deputy Chief Bennie Freeman Commander Bennie Freeman, 51, was promoted from his position as patrol commander to deputy chief. Deputy Chief Freeman came to Gary from Memphis, Tennessee. He attended West Side High School and received his Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University in West Lafayette. Freeman joined the sheriff’s department as a correctional officer in 1985 and became a police officer in 1989. He was promoted to the permanent rank of Sergeant and then to Deputy Commander. Commander Freeman has been assigned to the command staff of the patrol division. Bennie and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Merrillville. ADMININSRATION > Chiefs > Back to Top