Winamac Town Council hires officer, appoints new chief

Winamac Town Council members have chosen the next police chief and also decided to hire a new officer. 
Winamac Police Department Sgt. Mark Hoffman will be the next chief of police and Alec Berger will be the rookie of the department after a special meeting of the council held on Feb. 19.  
All of the police officers from the Winamac Police Department were present at the meeting. Council president Tom Murray asked if they were in support of Berger and it appears that each of them are.  
Before the council appointed who would be the next police chief, they spoke with Sgt. Mark Hoffman and officer Brian Gaillard. 
Both Hoffman and Gaillard were interviewed in an executive session before the special meeting.  
When making the decision as to who should be the next police chief, council members said it was a tough choice. 
The council appointed Hoffman as the new chief, but councilman Dan Vanaman abstained from the vote. Vanaman did not say why he abstained from the vote.