The Munster Police Department has three full-time School Resource Officers in our local schools who are responsible for assisting with building security, safety education, security assessments, investigating criminal acts on school grounds, and more.
OFFICER JAMES GHRIST joined the police department in 2000 and serves as the School Resource Officer for Eads Elementary School, St. Thomas More School, Frank Hammond Elementary School, Elliott Elementary School, and St. Paul’s Lutheran School. He instructs the D.A.R.E. Program to approximately 1,500 students in pre-school through 8th grade each year and also supervises the Munster Crime Watch Program, National Night Out Against Crime Celebration, Choice Community Council, and Cops and Kids holiday shopping program. Officer Ghrist also serves on the D.A.R.E. Indiana Advisory Council and provides car seat assistance, security surveys, station tours, and safety talks. He has attained National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) Practitioner status, Certified Level Accreditation through the Indiana School Resource Officer Association, and is a certified Indiana School Safety Specialist. He can be reached at 219-836-6639 or jghrist@munster.org.
OFFICER GABRIEL ISENBLATTER joined the police department in 2008 and serves as the School Resource Officer at Munster High School. He is a certified Indiana School Safety Specialist and is in the process of creating a new Cadet Program for young people who are interested in careers in law enforcement. Officer Isenblatter is also a certified Field Training Officer, Evidence Technician, and Crisis Intervention Officer. He can be reached at 219-836-6622 or gisenblatter@munster.org.
OFFICER KEVIN COOLEY joined the police department in 1998 and recently celebrated 25 years of service in Munster. He was named the first full-time School Resource Officer for Wilbur Wright Middle School last October and will be instructing the D.A.R.E. Program to approximately 350 8th grade students each year. He is also a certified Indiana School Safety Specialist and Field Training Officer. He can be reached at 219-836-6613 or kcooley@munster.org.
