CROTHERSVILLE

On the road to becoming a police officer, Jonathon Tabor picked up valuable experiences along the way.

He was a jailer at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown for two years and was a reserve officer for the Medora Police Department during that time. He also was a team leader at Aisin USA Mfg. Inc. and a dispatcher for the Seymour Police Department and worked for Tri-County Fence.

He was a reserve officer for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department from September to December 2019 before he was hired as a full-time merit deputy for the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.

Then in January, he was presented an opportunity to be an officer for the Crothersville Police Department.

Taking that path was intentional, Tabor said.

“On the law side of it, I’ve pretty much done every aspect,” the 29-year-old Brownstown native said. “I feel like from all of them that I’ve learned what important information needs to be given. I basically just got a really good understanding of the whole system. I feel like I can communicate well with dispatch from doing that. I know what the jail is going to need from me when I get there.”

Now, he’s right where he intended to be.

“Since 2015, being a full-time officer has been my No. 1 goal, and I just knew the more experience and knowledge I could get would help me eventually achieve it,” he said.

On Jan. 24, he was sworn in at Crothersville Town Hall. His wife, Tonya Tabor, held the Bible.

“I had a lot of family there, and just getting to share that experience, especially after trying for so many years, it was great,” he said.

“I’ve been through roughly about 15 different hiring processes with different departments, so the wife is always there,” he said. “You’ve got to train for them constantly physically. She saw me go through all of the processes and all of the interviews and everything, so she knew how long it took and how hard it was. It was great to get to share that.”

After graduating from Brownstown Central High School in 2009, Tabor went to Vincennes University to study agriculture business but decided college wasn’t for him.

He then worked for Bundy Brothers and Sons Inc. in Medora for three years before becoming a jailer.

“A good friend of mine worked in the jail, and just hearing him talk about it, I thought I would try that out,” Tabor said. “As soon as I started working in the jail, I started doing some ridealongs with the county deputies, and I was hooked on it. For one, this job gives you so many opportunities to help people in a lot of different ways, and that’s probably my biggest draw to it. There’s a lot of excitement that comes with it.”

Tabor said he previously had been in line to be hired as a Crothersville officer, and when he was made an offer earlier this year, he was ready.

“It was pretty much immediate,” he said. “For Washington County, I was going to have to move to Washington County, so coming here, I was able to stay close to home, and I get to work with everyone I know.”

So far, the job has suited him.

“I really like that it’s a smaller town and everybody knows everybody and everybody looks out for each other down here,” Tabor said. “Here at the department, we’re all pretty good friends. I’ve known these guys forever, so we’ve got a really good working relationship. I look forward to growing in the department, and I look forward to building a good rapport with the people here in town. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

Within a year of his hire date, Tabor will have to attend the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.

He also is going to keep working for Tri-County Fence on the side.

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Name: Jonathon Tabor

Age: 29

Hometown: Brownstown

Residence: Brownstown

Education: Brownstown Central High School (2009)

Occupations: Recently hired as an officer for the Crothersville Police Department; also works for Tri-County Fence

Family: Wife, Tonya Tabor

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