Bickel
New Carmel Police Chief Jeff Horner, who takes office on Jan. 8, 2022, has announced he will appoint Lt. Joe Bickel to replace him and serve as his Deputy Chief of Administration.
In that role, Bickel will manage all police staff functions that support the operational divisions of the Carmel Police Department (CPD), as well as develop plans and procedures to ensure efficient and effective support on a day-to-day and long-term basis.
Bickel has served CPD since June 1994 in various capacities. He was a member of the CPD SWAT team from 1996 to 2010 and held the position of Sniper Team Leader for most of his tenure. He was a Field Training Officer for four years, a CPD Explorer Advisor for eight years, was promoted to Sergeant in 2000 and then Lieutenant in 2004.
Bickel attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 2009. Since 2012, he has worked assignments that included the Community Outreach Programs, Public Information Officer (Media Relations), Hiring and Recruiting, Special Events, Internal Affairs, Training Supervisor and Crime Scene Investigators/Lab personnel supervisor.
Bickel and his wife Cindy live in Carmel and have two sons and a granddaughter. He grew up in a “law enforcement family” that included his father working as an officer for the Huntington City Police Department for 20 years, along with a brother who worked as an officer in Plainfield and Carmel, and five cousins who worked as police officers throughout the state of Indiana. Bickel graduated from the University of Indianapolis majoring in Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice with a minor in Business.