PERU, IN- Indiana State Police Sergeant Jan Maller has retired after 38 years of service to the citizens of Indiana.
Sgt. Maller is a native of Bluffton, Indiana, and attended Bluffton High School, where he graduated in 1978. Upon graduation, he attended Ball State University, obtaining an associate’s degree in criminal justice & corrections.
In 1986, he was selected to attend the 44th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy. After nearly 18 weeks of arduous training, Maller was appointed on November 16, 1986. Sgt. Maller was assigned to the Peru Post and patrolled Wabash County for 29 years, until 2015, when he was promoted and reassigned to the Training Division.
During Sgt. Maller’s career, he has instructed RADAR, VASCAR, LIDAR, SFST’s, PPCT, PR-24, Expandable Baton, Defensive Tactics and TASER. He is an ILEA Certified Psychomotor Skills Instructor and has been actively involved with the Department’s Defensive Tactics Program as a core and lead instructor at the academy for the past 31 years. He co-authored the Department’s Defensive Tactics Manual and is the primary author of the Defensive Tactics Instructor Manual.
During his career, Sgt. Maller also served for 20 plus years on the Department’s Tactical Intervention Platoon, for 30 plus years as a Field Training Officer, and was a Level 1 & 2 Certified Advanced Crash Reconstructionist.
Sgt. Maller has been twice the recipient of being awarded the Trooper of the District, the Wabash County Exchange Officer of the year award, the DUI Madd award, and his local FOP Officer of the year award. The Indiana State Police also recognized Maller for reaching 1,400,000 safe driving miles.
In his personal life, Sgt. Maller was a prior EMT, is a private pilot who enjoys flying, and years ago owned and raced Formula Ford race cars with his brother. He has been active in martial arts for years and enjoys working on cars. He has also been on several community advisory boards and takes interest in his local church activities. He enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Sgt. Maller currently resides with his wife, Deanna, in Wabash County. They have three grown children & five grandchildren. One of their sons, Josh, is a 17-year veteran of the department and is currently a detective out of the Peru Post.
