Cortes reflects on time as LPD chief

LIMA — When outgoing Lima Police Chief Angel Cortes spoke about his time as chief Thursday before he retired Friday, he said his top three accomplishments during his tenure were bringing back Lima’s SWAT Team, getting Flock cameras, and officer recruitment and retention.

Lima didn’t have a SWAT Team for three years because the cost to replace equipment was too high, so the Allen County Sheriff’s Office took control.

Flock cameras were implemented in Lima in 2023 and connect the city to other cities with the same technology. The cameras capture images of the back and other identifying features of vehicles as they drive past, day or night, and enter the images into a data bank so police can find stolen vehicles, people with warrants and missing people. Cortes said the cameras even helped solve a double murder in Lima.

Recruitment and retention of officers has been made easier by increasing the age limit that officers can be hired from 35 to 51 and raising wages for existing and new officers.

The department also started using a national testing network, so instead of new recruits who don’t live nearby coming to Lima to take the initial test, now they can take the test at a testing center closest to them.

Lateral transfer officers — or officers with similar experience in other law enforcement agencies — are starting to be hired as well. Cortes said these officers can be on the job months sooner than new recruits because they don’t have to go through as much training.

Cortes said 15 officers have been hired in the past two years and they are looking for 10 more.

Another change Cortes initiated was the transition from pinpoint policing — where officers target high crime areas — to community policing — where officers are assigned to specific neighborhoods. The shift has been in place for more than a year.

Cortes said one of the reasons for the change was the department didn’t have enough officers to accomplish pinpoint policing.

“The longer we do it the more it’s going to pay off,” Cortes said about community policing. “We have a lot of new officers out there right now and they need to get to know their neighbors and the area they patrol better.”

One of the ways the department is seeing the effects of community policing is in the number of calls for service they receive.

“The more you engage with the community, the more trust they have in you, those numbers have a tendency to go up because they report crimes more often. They feel that they can turn to police and the communication lines are open,” Cortes said.

Other updates made to the department during Cortes’ tenure included in the communications center and to officers’ body cameras and uniforms.

“A lot of different little things that makes the job easier for our officers to do,” Cortes said about the updates.

More updates have been initiated on the outside of the department’s building thanks to the collaboration of Cortes and a retired lieutenant. The police department sign outside of the building has been rebuilt; the department is laying bricks with current and former department members’ information etched in; and a time capsule will be made soon.

Cortes said he had the tools to be successful as chief because he spent years working at the administrative level and worked closely with the previous chief. He said incoming Chief Jim Baker has had a similar experience in his career.

“I got to learn by observing, so when I came in I thought that I was prepared,” Cortes said. “There were some things I needed to touch up on and I needed to learn but I was pretty lucky because I was pretty much in the mix for 10 years before I took over the position of chief.”

As for his retirement, Cortes doesn’t have any plans yet. He said he could work more or take time to enjoy it.

“Right now, I’m just going to give it a wait-and-see attitude and see what happens,” Cortes said.

Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.