BROWNSTOWN — The Jackson County seat will have a familiar face at the helm of its police force this summer. In a 3-0 vote during its meeting Monday evening, the Brownstown Town Council officially appointed current Assistant Police Chief Joe Kelly to take over the department’s top spot.
Kelly, 43, will assume his new duties on July 6, 2026, following the retirement of long-time Police Chief Tom Hanner.
“It will have its challenges taking over where Tom left off,” Kelly noted, adding that he is excited to step into his new administrative responsibilities, which will include budgeting, policy development, and collaborating directly with the town council.
Kelly’s promotion coincides with a broader structural reorganization of the Brownstown Police Department designed by Councilman Tim Robinson, the council’s public safety liaison.
With the upcoming retirement of Chief Hanner and the recent departure of Detective Jac Sanders—who left to become the town marshal and police chief in nearby Medora—Brownstown’s roster is shrinking from 10 full-time officers down to eight.
Rather than replacing the vacancies directly, Robinson’s approved blueprint eliminates Kelly’s former assistant chief position. Instead, it establishes a sergeant/detective role as second in command and a sergeant/school resource officer (SRO) as third in command.
This streamlined shift is expected to trim the department’s annual operating budget by roughly $25,000, bringing it down to $540,000.
The cost savings from the reorganization are earmarked for a crucial cause: raising the baseline pay for Brownstown’s remaining officers.
According to Kelly, the starting salary for a Brownstown police officer has historically been the lowest in Jackson County. This financial deficit made recruitment incredibly difficult in recent years, with Chief Hanner previously noting that traditional pools of 30 to 40 applicants had dwindled to just four or five.
By reallocating the budget to increase active salaries, town officials hope to bolster department morale, curb turnover, and attract higher-quality recruits moving forward.
Despite operating with a leaner force, Kelly expressed complete confidence in his team’s ability to protect the town of 3,100 residents. “We’ll make it work and supply the best coverage and services for the town as we possibly can,” Kelly said.
For Kelly, earning the top badge is the culmination of a lifelong interest in law enforcement that began in childhood. A native of Scipio in Jennings County, Kelly spent his youth visiting the Indiana State Police garage on Indianapolis’s east side, where his father worked as an ISP mechanic. His dad would often let him sit in the cruisers, flipping on the emergency lights and sirens.
Kelly’s professional timeline spans nearly two decades of law enforcement in southern and central Indiana:
- Early Career: Spent five years serving as a reserve officer in Jennings County.
- 2007: Graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.
- 2007–2012: Served five years with the Indiana State Police Capital Police Section, protecting the Statehouse in Indianapolis.
- 2012: Relocated and joined the Brownstown Police Department under Chief Hanner.
- 2018: Promoted to Assistant Chief of Police.
Kelly emphasized that spending the last 14 years in Brownstown has reinforced his appreciation for community-oriented policing.
Outgoing Chief Tom Hanner, who originally joined the local department in 2006 and stepped into the chief’s role in 2012, is not walking away from public service entirely.
Hanner has announced plans to transition to county-level operations, intending to serve as the commander of the Jackson County Jail under Dustin Steward, should Steward secure the sheriff’s seat in the upcoming general election on November 3.
