By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The Decatur Police Department has hired a Berne resident as the newest addition to the PD.
Trevor J. Newman, a Fort Wayne native, is being brought aboard to fill a vacancy which will occur with the June 19 retirement of Deputy Chief Chris Brite.
Newman, 22, will join the department on March 1. Chief Kevin Gerber had been given the go-ahead by the city’s board of works and safety to hire someone now to keep the department at full strength after Brite steps down.
Another recent hire, Kobey Eaton, 22, has been sworn in and is now doing field training with the local department – “So far, so good,” Gerber told the board of works Tuesday night.
Eaton began his field training on February 2.
Another new officer, Conrad Dyer, is currently in training at the Indiana Police Academy in Plainfield. He is expected to graduate at the end of April.
Meanwhile, Dallas Creager, hired on January 7 of last year, has been removed from the department’s probationary status.
RECOMMENDED: Newman has gone through the PERF (Public Employee Retirement Fund) process and was recommended for hiring, Gerber said.
He grew up in Fort Wayne and graduated from Snider High School in 2022. While there, he played football and baseball.
Newman attended Vincennes University from 2022-2024 and studied criminal justice.
He has been a confinement officer at the Adams County since February of last year.
Eaton, a resident of Decatur who grew up in Adams County and the Decatur area, had been with the Berne department since February of 2025.
Prior to that, he was a confinement officer at the jail.
He is a 2022 graduate of South Adams High School.
Brite has been with the department nearly 32 years, having joined in April of 1994. He was elevated to his present position in June of 2019.
About the Author
