Sheriff-Elect Hollowell Promises Changes in Hamilton County

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. — Following Tuesday’s election, a major shift is coming to law enforcement in Hamilton County.

Charles Hollowell will be sworn in as sheriff in January. He’s a Democrat and will be the first Black sheriff in Hamilton County’s history. Hollowell has said that, once he’s in office, he’ll be taking the same approach to law enforcement his entire career.

He’s spent the last 24 years with the Westfield Police Department. Hollowell credits his election to the county’s changing demographics.

“People know, they see that I’m Brown,” he said. “Hamilton County looks at law enforcement as something that is non-partisan. It doesn’t matter what letter is behind your name, they just want somebody that’s going to come and represent the county in a professional manner and make sure everyone is being treated with dignity and respect and having someone who is going to be there for all the people.”

Sheriff-elect Hollowell says he intends to scale back on the office’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In January 2025, HCSO announced that it was rolling out a new immigration commission in partnership with ICE.

The commission is part of ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows the federal government to delegate certain immigration enforcement tasks to local police officers and sheriff’s deputies.

FOX59/CBS4 reported on an ICE operation in central Indiana that netted more than 400 arrests in August. Another report from Thursday suggests ICE activity has continued on the east side of Indianapolis.

“We’re not here for immigration enforcement,” Hollowell said. “We’re here for the citizens of Hamilton County, and the resources and dollars here have to be spent to make sure we’re protecting the visitors and residents of Hamilton County.”

Cooperation in the 287(g) program is voluntary. Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush was the first in the state to say Hamilton County would take part and allow deputies to be trained to enforce immigration laws.

Now, as a campaign promise, Hollowell says the agreement will be ending.

“All these cities and towns here that are the safest communities in America — we’ve done that without agreements with the federal government.”

The first Democrat to be elected sheriff in Hamilton County was Charles Gooding from 1925-1926. He was followed by Frank Hattery from 1931 to 1934.

“In a way, we’re living a new history with a Black man and a Democrat being the new sheriff,” said Debra Lorenz, the president of the Hamilton County Historical Society.

The Historical Society is located in the former county jail, which also served as the sheriff’s official residence until 1977.

“It’s always been a Republican county, but I think politics is changing,” Lorenz said. “And historically, it’s going to be different than what it was,” she said.

“It’s not about Democrat, Republican, independent,” Hollowell said. “It’s about bridging all the people of Hamilton County together.”