TIPP CITY—Friends, family and officers filed in at Tipp City Council’s Monday meeting as a new chief of police and deputy police chief were sworn in.

Greg Adkins, who has served the city for 22 years and has been a lifelong resident of Tipp City, was sworn in as chief of police.

Stephanie Slepicka, who has served the city for 20 years, was sworn in as deputy police chief.

“Early on in my career, I realized I had a natural skill set communicating with many diverse populations within our community. As I honed those abilities, my communication strengthened within diverse settings, which allowed me the perceptiveness to attempt to seek problem solving solutions from multiple angles. As I take on the new responsibilities and grow into this new position of leadership, I feel the mechanics of our department allowed me to naturally follow this path in conjunction with formalized training offered within, and outside of, the department in addition to command support,” Slepicka said.

“I’m excited. A lot of hard work and a lot of great mentors and people will help you get to the position, and I have more people than I can name to thank. It’s definitely an honor to serve my hometown,” Adkins said. “I take a lot of pride in Tipp City, and we want to keep it a safe town and do everything we can to help the community, keep it safe and keep it strong is what our goal is here.”

Adkins is transitioning into the role of chief of police as former Chief Eric Burris retires from his 28 years of service with the Tipp City Police Department. His official last day as chief was July 6, but he was formally presented with a years of service proclamation by Mayor Joseph Gibson at Monday’s meeting.

“My personal experience with Chief Burris has been very positive. He’s always on top of law enforcement issues, what the department needs and doesn’t need, and from the mayor’s perspective, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you. You have served the city, the county and the region magnificently,” Gibson said.

Burris, who is an alumnus of Tippecanoe High School, began working in the city in 1995 as a patrol officer, later taking on the role of sergeant until he became chief in 2013.

“It’s been an honor (to serve). This is my hometown, so it meant a lot to me to become the police chief here,” Burris said. “I don’t know if there’s one part that’s more important, but I think it’s that word: service. More than anything else, that’s what has been important to me. I’ve always wanted our police department to be a service-oriented police department, and I hope that continues under Chief Adkins as well.”

Burris’ advice for future officers in Tipp City is to be flexible in today’s environment, continuously work toward self-improvement and continue to be educated.

“Remember that the world is constantly changing, and if you don’t change, you get left behind,” Burris said.

Several members of council wished Burris well in his retirement, as well as extended their congratulations to Chief Adkins and Deputy Police Chief Slepicka.

“It’s always important to recognize and see the potential of people in our department, and I’m a big fan of hiring within if possible. I’m glad that Chief Burris was able to name a successor that did not have to come from outside of the community, and I’m also happy that a successor was found internally, as well, for deputy chief,” Council President Katelyn Berbach said. “I appreciate all that you guys do for the community, so I’m really excited for you.”