Divisions

Captain Gus Farmer

Captain Gus Farmer currently serves as the Division Commander for the Patrol Division.  He was promoted to the rank of Captain in August 2024.  Captain Farmer has been employed with the Waterloo Police Department since February of 2003. 

During his tenure as an officer, Captain Farmer was assigned to the Patrol Division on Watch II and Watch III while also serving as a Field Training Officer and a Crime Scene Investigator.  Captain Farmer held positions in the Mounted Patrol Unit, Bike Patrol Unit, Accident Reconstruction Unit and was a K9 Handler.  His last assignment as an officer was in the Citizen’s Response Unit as a K9 Handler.

In September of 2009, Captain Farmer was promoted to the rank of sergeant and returned to the Patrol Division on Watch III with his K9.  Captain Farmer served as a K9 Handler for 10 years in total.  He attained national certification as a Dual Purpose K9 Trainer and served as the K-9 Unit Supervisor/Trainer, Field Training Supervisor, Accident Reconstruction Unit Supervisor and in January 2016 he was assigned as a supervisor in the Detective Division.  While in the Detective Division, he was a supervisor for the general crime detectives and the Safe Streets Task Force.  Captain Farmer remained in this position until his promotion to lieutenant in April of 2022.

Upon his promotion to lieutenant, he was assigned to the Patrol Division as the Watch 1 Watch Commander.  He served in this capacity until he was assigned to the Internal Affairs and Personnel Unit in January of 2024.  Captain Farmer served in this capacity until his promotion to captain in August of 2024.

Captain Farmer was elected to the Executive Board of the Iowa Peace Officers Association Executive in 2009.  He was appointed Vice President of the IPOA in 2011 and served in that capacity through 2015.  In 2015 Captain Farmer was elected to be the President of the IPOA and served in that capacity until 2017.  Following his tenure as the President, Captain Farmer served as a Past President on the IPOA Executive Board and served in that capacity until 2025.  Over much of his career, Captain Farmer served on the Executive Board of the Waterloo Police Protective Association in numerous capacities.  Captain Farmer also later served as the President of AFSCME Local 1195. 

Captain Farmer is a graduate of Ellsworth Community College, where he graduated with an Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice.  Captain Farmer is a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, as well as being a graduate of Northwestern University’s Supervision of Police Personnel.

Lieutenant Greg Fangman

Lt. Greg Fangman has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 1996.  He is currently assigned to Watch I patrol as a Lieutenant.  Lt. Fangman has previously held assignments in all three Divisions of the Department.  

Lt. Fangman graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Criminology/Sociology.  He is also a graduate of Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.

Lieutenant Corbin Payne

Lieutenant Corbin Payne is the Watch II Early Lieutenant. He has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 1996. He has also served as the community resource LT, watch commander, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force lieutenant, and supervisor of the Citizens Response Unit (CRU) and the Waterloo Police Tactical Unit. Other duties and assignments include patrol officer, Drug Crime Unit, and bike patrol officer.

Lieutenant Payne is a graduate of Wartburg College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and also a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Lieutenant Spencer Gann

Lieutenant Spencer Gann is currently assigned as the Late Swing Patrol Watch Commander (1630-0230). He was promoted to Lieutenant in August 2024. Lt. Gann was hired in 2008 and has worked in various roles throughout his career.

After completing the academy and field training, Lt. Gann was placed on second-shift patrol, where he was later assigned as a Field Training Officer (FTO). In 2011, he was assigned to the Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT), where he served until the end of 2012. He trained numerous officers through the FTO program and later transitioned to a Detective position in 2015. Promoted to Sergeant in 2018, Lt. Gann was assigned to third-shift patrol, where he served for three years. In 2021, Lt. Gann took over as the Sergeant of VCAT. In this role, he was deputized as a Task Force Officer with the United States Marshals Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force. Lt. Gann is also a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator which is part of the Tactical Team.

Lt. Gann grew up in Waterloo and graduated from East Waterloo High School. He went on to obtain an associate’s degree in Police Science from Hawkeye Community College in 2007.

Lieutenant Hector Camarin

Lieutenant Hector Camarin is currently assigned as the Patrol Division Watch III Commander.  He was promoted to his current rank in April of 2023.

Lieutenant Camarin has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 1994.  During his tenure as an officer, he had been assigned to the Patrol Division working Watch I, II and III.  He also had additional duty assignments on the Tactical Team, Motorcycle Unit, and as a Field Training Officer.  He was also assigned as a detective to the Detective Division.

In 2009 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant where he served as a supervisor on the Patrol Division all shifts, as well as a supervisor in the Detective Division. 

Captain Jason Feaker

Captain Jason Feaker currently serves as the division commander for the Detective Division. He was promoted to the rank of captain in March of 2022. Captain Feaker has been employed with the Waterloo Police Department since 1998.

He has held assignments in Patrol on both watch II and III while serving as a field training officer (FTO) and crime scene investigator (CSI). In 2002, he was assigned to the Detective Division where he spent two years as a general crime detective and then four years as a detective in the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force.

In April of 2008, Captain Feaker was promoted to the rank of sergeant and worked in the Patrol Division Watch II. In July of 2009, he was re-assigned to the Detective Division as the school resource officer (SRO) supervisor. Then in January of 2011, he was delegated to the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force as the operations coordinator.

In November of 2014, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant where he oversaw the operations of Watch III Patrol. In September of 2016, he was moved to the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force as the field coordinator. Captain Feaker served as a member/supervisor of the Tactical Unit for 14 years and the honor guard supervisor for 8 years.

Captain Feaker sits on the Board of the Iowa State Police Association, and Iowa Drug Policy Advisory Council, and has served on the Waterloo Police Protective Association Executive Board. Captain Feaker graduated from North Iowa Area Community College with an Associate of Arts Degree in Police Science. He was previously employed by the city of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in 1997. Captain Feaker is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 273.

Lieutenant Steve Bose

Lieutenant Steve Bose has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 2002. He is currently assigned to the Detective Division. During his tenure as an officer, he worked Watch II and Watch III Patrol and was assigned to the Citizens Response Unit and the Violent Crimes Apprehension Team.

In November 2014, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was assigned to the Patrol Division. Lieutenant Bose was a K-9 handler from 2010 through 2017 and was also a field training officer. In December 2011, he joined the Tactical Unit and remains an active member of that unit today.

Lieutenant Rich Gehrke

Lieutenant Rich Gehrke is currently with the Detective Division and is assigned to the Tri-County Drug Task Force.  He was promoted to his current rank of Lieutenant in 2022.  

Lieutenant Gehrke has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 1996.  During his tenure as an Officer he worked Watch III Patrol, was a Crime Scene Investigator and was also assigned to the Street Crimes Unit.   He then served as a full-time Narcotics Detective assigned to the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force where he was federally deputized with the FBI and had a parallel assignment with the Southeast Iowa Clandestine Lab Task Force. 

He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2009 and was assigned to the Patrol Division where 
he supervised on Watch III and Watch I Patrol.  In addition, Lieutenant Gehrke was assigned as a supervisory Sergeant at the Tri-County Drug Task Force.  Lieutenant Gehrke also served as an Operator and Team Leader on the Waterloo Police Department’s Tactical Unit for fifteen years  

Lieutenant Gehrke is a graduate of University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Public Administration as well as a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Captain Aaron McClelland

Captain Aaron McClelland is the administrative division commander. Captain McClelland has been with the Waterloo Police Department serving the citizens of Waterloo since 1997.

Captain McClelland has been on the Tactical Unit, and the Bomb Unit, and is one of the negotiators for the department. Captain McClelland was promoted to sergeant in 2007 and has served the department in the Investigations Unit, the Citizens Response Unit, Watch I, Watch II, and Watch III Patrol as a supervisor. Prior to being promoted to sergeant, he worked Watch II, and Watch III, and was the training coordinator for the department. He also served as a field training officer for 8 years before being moved to the training officer position.

Captain McClelland is the senior firearms instructor/armorer for the department and has spent the last 15+ years instructing Waterloo Police Officers as well as other officers from across the state. Captain McClelland was the department's first taser instructor, a sudden in-custody death instructor, and served as the President of Iowa NAFTO (National Association of Field Training Officers) for 3 years.

Captain McClelland has an associate degree from Hawkeye Community College where he received the William F. Mullikin scholarship, sponsored by his family after his tragic death in 1981. He began his law enforcement career as a reserve officer in Evansdale, Iowa, while in college and has been serving the citizens of Waterloo since.

Lieutenant Michael Girsch

Lieutenant Girsch has been with the Waterloo Police Department since 2008 and is currently in charge of the Training Unit. He is responsible for developing, reviewing, updating, and maintaining the department training plan. He was promoted to his current rank of Lieutenant in 2021 and has held assignments in all three divisions of the Waterloo Police Department.

His previous assignments as an officer include the Patrol Division, Field Training Officer (FTO), Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT), Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force Detective, and Training Coordinator.

As a Sergeant in the Detective Division, he supervised the Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT) and was federally deputized by the US Marshals as part of the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force.

After being promoted to Lieutenant he served as the Watch Commander on Watch I and Watch II Patrol. Lieutenant Girsch has also served as an Operator, Team Leader and currently as the Assistant Commander of the Tactical Team.

Lieutenant Girsch is a graduate of Loras College with a BA in Criminal Justice as well as the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. He is a certified specialist instructor for the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in a variety of courses as well as an adjunct instructor at a local college. Lieutenant Girsch holds certifications in many disciplines including firearms instructor and weapons armorer.

Wendy Drinovsky

Wendy Drinovsky is the Information Systems Manager and has been since she was hired by the Waterloo Police Department in November of 2004. She is the only civilian on the command staff of the department.

In addition to administering the day-to-day activities of the Records Unit, Wendy is responsible for overseeing computer operations, training, technical support, and the installation and configuration of the organization’s local and wide area network.

She has a BA in Management Information Systems from the University of Northern Iowa.

Lieutenant Rob Camarata

Lieutenant Rob C. Camarata is assigned to the Office of Internal Affairs and has been serving the citizens of Waterloo since 1997.

After being hired by the Waterloo Police Department he attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy at Camp Dodge, where he served as the President of the 161 Basic Class.  After graduating from ILEA he returned to WPD and worked as a Patrol Officer on Watch I, Watch II, and Watch III.  There he had additional duty assignments as Field Training Officer, Crime Scene Investigator, Tactical Unit Member, Bomb Squad Member.  He later became an Investigator and was assigned to the Investigations Unit until promoted to Sergeant in 2008.  He was the 2007 Exchange Club Officer of the Year.

After being promoted to Sergeant, he did a short assignment on Patrol, before being assigned to the Investigations Unit as a Supervisor.  In 2012 he returned to Patrol and worked on both Watch I and Watch III.  During this time, he was also a Tactical Unit Team Leader and Bomb Squad Team Leader.

He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2023 and served as the Watch II Late Swing Watch Commander for a year, before being assigned to the Office of Internal Affairs.

Lt. Camarata left the Tactical Unit after 20 years of service.  He also served on the Waterloo Police Protective Association Executive Board for more than 20 years, serving as the President from 2020-2023.

As the Lieutenant of Internal Affairs, Lt. Camarata conducts Internal Investigations as well as all Background Investigations for potential Police Officer candidates.