Rob Randle named Ferdinand Chief of Police

At Tuesday’s Ferdinand Town Council meeting, Chief of Police Kerri Blessinger informed them she would be stepping down from the position to accept a job with Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center.

In response, the town council nominated Rob Randle as her replacement, effective Nov. 19. Randle had served as captain for the department for the past two years and had recently been promoted to Assistant Chief with Christian Gogel’s retirement last month.

Mr. Randle, who was in attendance at the meeting, accepted the position.

Randle has served in the department since May of 2001 and has lived in the area since 1992. He previously served as a reserve officer with the Huntingburg Police Department before joining Ferdinand.

According to Randle, he had wanted to be a police officer since he was a child, and by accepting the position, he fulfilled his greatest ambition.

“I am excited,” Randle said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “All my years of service have led me to this spot and I am looking forward to leading the department and continuing the direction it’s going now.”

Randle acknowledged Chief Blessinger’s leadership and impact on him in a post on Facebook. “She is a great role model and a top-notch example of what a chief of police looks like,” he wrote. “I have some big shoes to fill and welcome the opportunity.”

Randle is taking over a department that has increased in size by one additional officer this year. With the expansion, Chief Blessinger’s resignation, and Gogel’s retirement, the department will be down three officers but Randle said they have several candidates in the running for those positions.

As far as any changes under his leadership, Randle reiterated the quality of the department and its officers.

“We have a really good community,” he said adding he knows the community backs its police officers. “We want to keep that small-town feel but we are going to try to be trained and prepared for anything.”

He added that his door is always open to the citizens of Ferdinand, and they should feel comfortable reaching out to him or any of the officers at any time.

“We need them (citizens) to help us do a good job,” Randle said.