A 26-year veteran with a wide breadth of police experience will become the next chief of the State College Police Department.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine announced on Monday the selection of current Assistant Chief John Gardner as the department’s next chief. Gardner will succeed Tom King, who will retire at the end of August after 23 years in the position and transition to a new role as the borough’s assistant manager for public safety.
Gardner’s appointment was approved by Borough Council Monday night, and he will be sworn in as chief on Aug. 15, officially taking the helm on Sept. 1.
‘Assistant Chief Gardner has demonstrated leadership in the department throughout his career,’ Fountaine said. ‘He has conducted himself with integrity and demonstrated strong moral and ethical character in his professional affairs as well as in his personal life. In addition to his leadership and supervisory roles, he has served as the chair of the State College Police Department Internal Affairs Conduct and Procedures Review Board. He has collaborated with other departments and agencies to plan and coordinate large events in the community.’
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.
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. He successfully completed the Police Executive and Leadership Command program at the FBI Academy in Quanitco, Va., in 2014
Prior to joining the State College Police Department, Gardner was chief juvenile probation officer in the Clearfield County Probation Office from 1983-1990.
Fountaine, with the assistance of department officers and civilian staff, chiefs and officers from other police departments, and members of the local community, selected Gardner from among three internal candidates for the position after a search that began in March.
‘We are fortunate to have strong leadership and officers to support the culture that has been instilled for years in the State College Police Department,’ Fountaine said. ‘All three candidates demonstrated the ability to lead this department and serve the community. This was a difficult choice because all three candidates are such strong and capable leaders.’
Fountaine said the attributes sought for the position included the ability to communicate the mission and strategic vision for the borough and department; commitment to diversity and community-oriented policing; Commitment to accountability for himself or herself and all officers and civilian employees; Apply consistent and fair standards to hold officers and civilian employees accountable for actions and words; An individual guided in all things personally and professionally by a strong moral compass and commitment to ethical conduct and integrity.
