Major Mike Janes of the Fishers Police Department was honored during the Nov. 20 Fishers City Council meeting for his 20 years as a Fishers law enforcement officer.
Police Chief Ed Gebhart told the council that he had been thinking about what word encapsulates Janes’ two decades of service, “and to me, it’s ‘truth.’”
Gebhart said Janes, who started with FPD in 2003, is always honest and puts the community first when making decisions. As a patrolman, Janes became the department’s first certified paramedic police officer, a certification he continues to hold.
“Mike is an instructor of our department’s CPR, first aid and other leadership topics,” Gebhart said. “Mike also was a field training officer for our department for several years, grooming our new officers that came up the rank and file. In 2007, he took his first post as a sergeant, and in 2014, he became a lieutenant of an entire watch where he led for several years.”
Gebhart said Janes attended special training to learn about command leadership and returned to help the department create professional standards for internal affairs and other administrative improvements. Janes also is a member of the FPD’s dive team and teaches dive skills.
“We thought that he was overdue for promotion to major,” Gebhart said. “So in 2022, we promoted him to a major, leading a division that has our civilian staff, background hire recruitment, public information, our (school resource officers) and our traffic unit.”
Gebhart added that Janes has won three distinguished medals during his career and two lifesaving medals.
Council members and those in the audience applauded Janes following Gebhart’s presentation. Fishers City Council President John Weingardt (R-South Central District), thanked Janes for his service to the community.
“And also thanks to your family — you’re all here tonight and thank you very much for being a part of our community,” Weingardt said, “We not only appreciate your service, but also your friendship.”
