Recognizing the work of Ascension St. Vincent’s private police force – WEVV

An area hospital system recently adopted their own private police force.

It's still in the beginning stages, but it's making history.

"Wow, this is kind of pretty cool starting from ground zero," says Captain Chris Pugh, Ascension St. Vincent Police.

They are the ones who work to protect others.

Chris Pugh has always had a calling to be in law enforcement. He started with Evansville Police in 1989 working in everything from narcotics to SWAT.

In 2011 he became the Assistant Police Chief in the department, until he said goodbye in January of last year.

"It was a good job," says Pugh. "Everything I wanted, but it was time to retire."

For Pugh, his dedication to serve was still inside.

"I always say if you can leave one job you really like and come to a second one you really like, that's a really good thing," says Pugh.

That same month he accepted the position as Police Captain at Ascension St. Vincent.

"Things are moving forward," says Pugh. "It's just you can imagine, building something from nothing. There's a lot of work that needs to be done."

Not only is the new department groundbreaking, but it's also history in the making.

In the Hoosier State, Ascension is divided into three regions: South, Central, and North. Each with their own Police Captain, and Pugh just so happens to be the first in the River City.

"If the nurses and the doctors and the techs are going to provide quality care like they do to the patients, it has to be a safe environment," says Pugh.

It's a private force, independent from EPD, but the ability to work together still remains.

Pugh says they are still working on the infrastructure and looking to eventually build their force up, keeping Ascension St. Vincent safe.

"The ultimate goal is to just keep moving forward," says Pugh. "They will be small, sometimes you want to start running, but it's a crawl, walk, run. We're in this walk stage, almost to the point where we're ready to run."

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Recognizing the work of Ascension St. Vincent's private police force - WEVV