By Anita Weier
Northside News
The Northside has a new leader for the North Police District, but he is far from new to the district. Captain Jamar Gary grew up on the Northside and graduated from East High School. He took over the leadership of the district following the retirement of Captain Kelly Donahue, who welcomed him heartily as a fellow Purgolder.
He and his wife, who is an attorney, and their 14-yeer-old twins now live in the Town of Burke, quite near his worksite.
Gary, 45, started out with the Madison Police Department in the summer of 2001 as an intern in the Budget Office. “I was mentored by [former Chief] Noble Wray. Once hired, I went through the Police Academy, and in May 2002 I became a patrol officer,” he recalled. “I worked downtown and in the East District on patrol, and then went into the Criminal Intelligence Unit. I was in patrol for six years and then was in CIS for two years. I did investigative support — monitoring robberies and trying to identify patterns and then ID suspects.”
He also assisted with the command post after homicides, in which he found criminal histories and felony data. He reviewed phone records to establish timelines. He was promoted to detective in 2010 and served in the West District in that capacity. He then worked downtown as a general assignment detective and then in the criminal intake unit, also as a detective.
He then worked primarily in quality control for cases referred to the District Attorney’s Office. “Each day I reviewed arrests to make sure they met all the elements required. Some cases were charged, and others dismissed. I was a conduit between patrol service and the District Attorney’s Office,” Gary explained.
Referrals that had been paper-based became electronic. “Tracking was better, and the amount of paper was reduced,” he said. “It was an evolution in policing.” Other major changes included the use of smart phones, and by the time he became a detective, there were computers in squad cars. GPS also entered the picture.
Over the years he worked in various areas of the Northside in patrol. In 2014 he was promoted to sergeant, and then became a lieutenant and officer in charge of the 1–9 pm shift, which he said is the busiest time of day for police. “It is a good way to start as a manager,” Gary added. “You have to work through community as well as personnel issues.”
In 2019 he became a detective lieutenant in the North District, supervising detectives in the district. The next promotion was to captain in the East District, the department’s largest, where he served three years. However, he always wanted to become North District captain. “I have a lot of connections and relationships in this area,” he explained.
His major goal now is to continue to make the Northside an even more desirable place to live and work. He is following the progress of the body-camera pilot project, which began in April and will conclude in July. Initial reports were that officers favored the devices, which Gary said add transparency to their work.
Noting that some officers remain patrol officers their entire career and are happy with that, he knows his path has been somewhat unique with the variety of duties.
Regarding his return to the North District, he said the Northside has in general not changed. “There are always pockets of crime, but there are no areas here that people need to avoid,” he said. Recent data has shown more frequent problems near the Northside TownCenter and Brentwood. “Vera Court is not what it was in the past, when a Blue Blanket was required,” he added.
“All of the high schools sometimes require police services. I have met with the East High security officer and the assistant principal in charge of security. I have a good relationship with the school district. Since the School Board removed school resource officers from the high schools, there is a need for more communication since no one is on hand day-to-day.”
