Marshall County Prosecutor-Elect Nelson Chipman announced today his appointment as the next Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami L. Napier of Hancock County, Indiana. Ms. Napier’s appointment as Chief Deputy becomes effective on January 1, 2015.
Highlights of Ms. Napier’s background include her tenure as Hancock County Chief Deputy Prosecutor for the last four years. Previous to that Napier served for five years as a deputy prosecutor in Marion County where she was assigned to major felonies, the sex crimes unit, and the homicide division. During those years she successfully prosecuted over a hundred jury trials and far more than that number in bench trials.
Chipman became aware while attending an extensive Indiana Prosecuting Attorney Council training in September of Ms. Napier’s reputation as a no nonsense career prosecutor seeking a lateral move to another community. Chipman contacted Ms. Napier, reviewed her resume and contacted her references, as well as people he knows in the Greenfield/Hancock County community and confirmed her sterling professional credentials. “After an extensive interview, I knew that Tami was a great fit for our office and many of the programs we intend to implement,” Chipman said.
Chipman noted, “We are extremely fortunate to get someone of Tami’s character and professional experience to transition from Dave Holmes’ administration.”
Among other skills Chipman found valuable are Ms. Napier’s emphasis on training with law enforcement agencies and fellow deputy prosecutors. She initiated and coordinated the Hancock County Child Fatality Review Team, the Hancock County Sexual Assault Response Team and the Domestic and Sexual Assault Prevention Coalition. She was the prosecutor’s liaison to the Arson Task Force and the Fatal Accident Crash Team. She has been a speaker at the Central Indiana Detective School, the INCASA Child Abuse Awareness Month, the recent CASA Awards presentations and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Citizens’ Academy. In 2013 she was honored with the Jack L. Brinkman Child Advocate Award presented by the East Central Indiana INCASA.
When contacted for a comment, Ms. Napier stated, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chief Deputy Prosecutor and work for Nelson Chipman and the citizens of Marshall County. I am familiar with the community, I have longtime friends that live here and have always enjoyed spending time in the county. I particularly look forward to getting to know more people in the community, the people working in the criminal justice system and the various law enforcement agencies.”
Ms. Napier added, “I intend to utilize my experience as a prosecutor to seek justice for victims of crime in Marshall County, and to support Mr. Chipman’s commitment to holding offenders accountable, and to exert every effort to keep the community safe.”
Ms. Napier is a 2000 graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law and has been admitted to the practice of law by the Indiana Supreme Court and the United States District Courts of Indiana.
