MACOMB, IL –Macomb Mayor Michael Inman announced today that he will appoint Interim Macomb Police Chief Jeffrey Hamer to fill the Police Chief position on a permanent basis, succeeding Jerel Jones who left the position earlier this year for a position as Chief in suburban Flossmoor, IL. Inman will seek the concurrence of the Macomb City Council to hire Hamer as the City’s new Chief of Police at the Council meeting on Monday, August 7th.
“We had 16 diverse applicants for the Chief’s position,” explained Macomb Mayor Michael Inman. “Of the top candidates that we interviewed, Jeff’s Servant Leader approach, his integrity, his background in leadership and technology, and his ability to bring stability to MPD made him the clear choice to be our next Chief of Police. We are proud and excited that he has accepted this leadership position in our community.”
A native of Bolingbrook, IL, Chief Hamer came to Macomb in 1996 to attend Western Illinois University. While at WIU, Hamer met his future wife Tonya, in addition to falling in love with the town and the university. Jeff and Tonya have been married since 2001 and they have two wonderful children together, Jack (19) and Liberty (16).
Chief Hamer, a 22-year veteran of the Macomb Police Department (MPD), has served many roles within MPD. Hamer has been a Field Training Officer (FTO), Verbal Judo Instructor, and has been very active in implementation of technology in the Department, throughout his career. Initially promoted to Sergeant, Hamer supervised dayshift patrol activities before being subsequently promoted to Lieutenant, where he supervised patrol officers and functioned as the Tactical Commander for the multi-agency Strategic Response Team (SRT). Chief Hamer played a vital role in getting the MPD fully accredited, while acting as the ILEAP Accreditation manager for the Department. He has also served as the Body Worn Camera administrator for the past two years and assisted in officer training, program rollout, and oversight of the project. Most recently, Hamer served as the Administrative Lieutenant and Operations Commander prior to assuming the Interim Chief role. Hamer also served for 3 years as a Corrections Officer with the McDonough County Sheriff’s Department prior to joining the MPD.
Chief Hamer holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University (WIU) as well as a Master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lewis University. Hamer is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command (323rd). He is a member of the Illinois Association of Chief’s of Police, a big brother to Luke through Big Brothers Big Sisters and he is very active in several community, civic and non-for-profit organizations, in Macomb.
Says Hamer, “I am excited to lead the brave officers and staff of the Macomb Police Department as we move the community and agency into the future, and I am thrilled to be the City of Macomb’s next Chief of Police.”
