Full Notification

ISP Lt. Hammer Retires with 46 Years of Service

Indianapolis, IN- The Indiana State Police is announcing the retirement of Lieutenant Rick Hammer, Commander of the Crime Scene and Field Support Section (Laboratory Division), whose career with the Department has spanned the last 46 years.

Rick began his career with the Indiana State Police in 1969 when he was hired as a dispatcher at General Headquarters (GHQ). In November 1972 he was selected to attend the ISP Recruit School in Bloomington, Indiana at the Poplar Hotel and was appointed as a trooper July 15^th, 1973.

Rick began his road patrol duties at Dunes Park and continued those duties as a trooper at the Toll Road and Indianapolis District until his promotion to corporal, also at the Indianapolis District, in 1983.

In 1988 Hammer was promoted to Sergeant as a Laser Systems Specialists in the Laboratory Division and again in 2007 to Lieutenant as Commander of the Crime Scene and Field Support Section where he has worked until his retirement.

Throughout his years Rick has served on the Riot Squad, trained probationary troopers as a Field Training Officer, and taught countless officers as a Vascar and Firearms instructor. He is also an Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Instructor specializing in fingerprints, footwear/tire tread impressions.

Rick takes great pride in being a member of the original committee that established the Youth Education and Historical Center, also known as the ISP Museum.

Rick resides with his wife Ann in Speedway Indiana. He has two grown children and three grandchildren that, according to Rick, are cute and exceedingly fun to be around, just like their grandpa.

Included below is an article that appeared in the Indiana State Police Alliance magazine one year ago when Lt. Hammer was recognized for his 45 years of service to ISP.

45 Years and Counting

Written by: Larry Turner

This past fall the department was faced with a quandary that we had not encountered before. In preparation of Lieutenant Rick Hammer completing 45 years of service, the department realized a 45 year longevity pin for an enforcement officer to display on their uniform did not exist. Several years earlier, when the mandatory retirement age was raised to 65, 40 year pins were designed and approved and were subsequently issued for the first time to Major Jerry Ezell and Captain Dale Mullikin. Since then, a few additional enforcement officers had reached 40 year of service but no one to date had completed 45 years of service while still in an enforcement status.

As a staff we worked together on several different design options and presented those to the Superintendent for final selection. Lt. Hammer along with his family came to General Headquarters on February 26, 2015 where Lt. Hammer was formally presented with the first 45 year longevity pin ever issued to an active sworn officer. The attached photo illustrates the new 45 year pin along with a photo of the presentation by Superintendent Carter. I know I speak for everyone on the department when I say, "Rick you should be very proud of this significant milestone."  

Lt. Hammer grew up in Speedway, Indiana and resides there today just blocks away from the infamous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rick and his wife Ann have two grown children, two grandchildren with another grandchild on the way very soon.

Lt. Hammer joined the department in December 1969 when he was hired as a dispatcher, and assigned to the Communications Division at General Headquarters. At that time dispatchers were encouraged to do a ride along with troopers to become both familiar with district and the assigned troopers. Lt. Hammer said he did many ride alongs with Troopers Leon Griffith, Bill Hilzley, Larry Harshman, Jerry Owens, Bill Smith, John Long, Bob Davis and Bill Bronner. He said they were all terrific role models, and it did not take him long to realize that becoming a trooper was his next goal.

Lt. Hammer was selected to be a trooper, and in October 1972 he began his police training. In 1972, recruit school was still held at Bloomington University and the recruits were housed in the Poplar Hotel. A little tidbit of information, Rick is the only active sworn officer left on the department that attended recruit school in Bloomington. Everyone else had graduated from the ILEA in Plainfield.

Upon graduation, Lt. Hammer's first assignment was Dunes Park and shortly thereafter when the Toll Road Post was reopened, Rick and his other classmates were transferred to the Toll Road District. In March of 1979, he transferred to the Indianapolis District and was assigned to the west side of Indianapolis. In 1983 he was promoted to Corporal and served as a duty officer at District 52. In November 1988 he was promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the Laboratory Division assigned to fingerprint, footwear and tire track comparisons and development. In April 2007, he was promoted to Lieutenant where he continues to serve as the Commander of the Crime Scene and Field Support Section, which oversees all of the CSI'S and district evidence clerks.

Lt. Rick Hammer Photo Captions

Hammer Photo 1 Superintendent Doug Carter (left) Lieutenant Rick Hammer (right)

Hammer Photo 2 Certificate and 45 year longevity pin

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MYERS