After more than 25 years as a patrol officer with the Carmel Police Dept., Andy Gerdt is ready for a change of pace.
Gerdt, 52, will be in uniform for the last time on March 29, with his retirement becoming official in April. After that, he plans to spend most of his time in Tennessee, although the Westfield resident plans to maintain his Hamilton County home so he can live there in the winters and easily travel to West Lafayette to watch his stepson, Brian Waddell, play basketball at Purdue University.
“I have tried to prepare myself financially so that when I retire, I could be done with work,” Gerdt said. “That could change, but my plan is to spend time with family, travel and play a lot of tennis and a lot of pickleball.”
Gerdt comes from a family of law enforcement officers, but he didn’t seriously consider the career until a few years after graduating from Perry Meridian High School in 1987. He graduated from IUPUI in 1994 and joined the Marion Police Dept. the same year. Three years later, CPD hired him to join its growing police force.
During his time in Carmel, Gerdt has worked as a field training officer and as part of the bike patrol. He’s been recognized multiple times for his efforts to get drunk drivers off the road.
“People in my profession develop a niche in what we enjoy doing. Some enjoy being school resource officers, some enjoy being on the SWAT team. I enjoy removing drunk drivers off the streets,” he said. “I just felt that that could possibly be helping to make a difference.”
Gerdt, who has an adult daughter from his first marriage and two grandchildren, has represented CPD multiple times as a tennis competitor at the World Police and Fire Games, most recently earning a gold medal in mixed doubles and a bronze medal in men’s doubles. He plans to continue competing in the games into retirement.
