COLUMBUS, Ind. – Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon swore in Steve Norman as the new Chief of Police of the Columbus Police Department (CPD) at the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on Tuesday morning. In Chief Norman’s first move, he appointed Matt Martindale as the deputy chief and has since appointed the rest of his administrative staff.
Chief Norman, a lifelong resident of Bartholomew County, has been with CPD for 29 years. Chief Norman has served as a patrolman, narcotics detective, public information officer, uniform lieutenant, uniform captain, and deputy chief under Chief Richardson.
Deputy Chief Martindale started with the CPD as a patrolman in 2014 and has since served in many capacities. In 2018 he was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division as a detective and promoted to detective sergeant a year later.
Toby Combest started with CPD in 2008 and has been uniform captain for three years. He has also served as a field training and SWAT officer. He was promoted to uniform sergeant, assigned to JNET, and then promoted again to detective lieutenant.
Brian Wilder has been appointed administrative captain overseeing the Criminal Investigations Division, Intelligence-Led Policing Unit, and the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team. Wilder started with CPD in 2001 and has held several positions since.
Lt. Matt Harris has been selected to fill the newly created position of administrative lieutenant directly overseeing the property room manager, the accreditation manager, and the Records Division. Lt. Harris began his CPD career in 2001 and has been a DARE, SWAT, and field-training officer. He was the public relations officer for nearly 10 years and became a lieutenant in 2016.
Sgt. Skylar Berry is the new public relations officer. After obtaining his law enforcement officer certification, Berry started with CPD in 2016. He became a detective for the Criminal Investigations Division in 2019 until being reassigned to the Intelligence-Led Policing Unit. In 2023, Berry was promoted to sergeant.
