For the first time in 23 years, the Borough of State College swore in a new police chief.
John Gardner, previously assistant chief, was sworn in by Mayor Elizabeth Goreham on Monday night at the State College Borough Council meeting. He will officially begin his duties as chief on Sept. 1, following the retirement of Chief Tom King, who was appointed to the post in 1993 and will take on a new role as assistant borough manager for public safety.
‘One thing I can assure you is I will not be here for 23 years,’ said Gardner, already a 26-year veteran of the department. ‘But I will assure you I will do my very best to make this department as great as it has been in the past. That’s a testament to all the great men and women who work in this department.’
Gardner was named to the role by Borough Manager Tom Fountaine and approved by council on Aug. 1. Since joining the department in 1990, Gardner has risen through the ranks while serving in an array of assignments. He has been a patrol, field training and bicycle patrol officer, background investigator, criminal investigator, detective and supervisor and commander of various divisions. He has held the ranks of officer, detective, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and captain before becoming assistant chief, and now chief.
‘This is a great community. It’s what’s kept me here all these years,’ Gardner said. ‘I’ve raised a family here and we want to help keep this community as great and full of vitality as it has been over the years.’
Gardner thanked King for being a mentor and friend and for his years of dedicated service to the department and borough.
‘I don’t say this lightly: He’s left big shoes to fill,’ Gardner said. ‘I feel I am up to that task… There are high expectations in the department, in this borough and in this community and I fully recognize that going forward. I won’t let you folks down.’
Gardner credited the members of the State College Police Department, whom he called ‘some of the best and finest law enforcement officials you’ll see anywhere.’ He noted that the department’s achievements have been recognized by other departments across the country, and he has been called on for advice because of what the department has done in the local community.
He said that the department’s staffing is down because of attrition and retirements, and he said his first priority is to fill those vacant positions.
Joined at the swearing in by his wife Jody and children Josh and Jordan, Gardener said he could not have served the department well for many years without their support.
‘Behind every successful person, male or female, there is a wife or husband or significant other and I’ve had that for the last 30 years in my wife Jody,’ Gardner said. ‘It became more difficult when children came along and you had to miss family events … I’m not just speaking for myself. I’m speaking for the men and women in blue. The sacrifices they make a lot of time go unrecognized. I know I couldn’t do it without the support I’ve had at home.’
Gardner graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s in individual and family studies and earned a master’s in administration of justice from Shippensburg University. Prior to joining the State College Police Department, Gardner was chief juvenile probation officer in the Clearfield County Probation Office from 1983-1990.
On Monday, he committed to working with the community he’s called home for 26 years to make the department and borough as strong as it can be.
‘I am committed to community. I am committed to many of the programs that Chief King has put in place here,’ Gardner said. ‘I believe in transparency. I believe in inclusion. I believe in collaboration and partnerships. That’s the only way we can do it and the only way we’re going to be able to make it. I can assure you that’s how we’re going to carry on doing business in the future.’
