CARMEL, Ind. — Drake Sterling was officially sworn in as Carmel’s new police chief on Tuesday and said he has no plans to make any major changes at the department, for now.

On Wednesday, our pre-scheduled interview with him was pushed back by about an hour after he and other members of his department responded to a SWAT call in the Guilford Park neighborhood.

It was described as a “mental-emotional” call and ended peacefully.

“It’s no secret that mental health is a top concern of law enforcement and the community,” Sterling said.

We asked the new chief about that incident when we got around to our interview. He said he plans to continue the department’s crisis intervention unit which provides resources for those in situations like the one he responded to on Wednesday.

Chief Sterling said he had no major changes in mind for the department at the moment.

“The vision for the police department is to continue to build on the excellence that Chief Barlow and the chiefs that came before him established,” Sterling said. “We have an opportunity here to do some really special things and really it’s just continuing to build on that.”

Sterling grew up in LaPorte and attended school at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He briefly worked in Noblesville with community corrections before spending the past 14 years at the Zionsville Police Department.

Since he started in his new role, Sterling said he’s been holding meetings with stakeholders inside and outside of city government. His philosophy toward policing, he said, begins and ends with relationships.

“I think you establish relationships with the police officers and they are going to do good work as they always do,” Sterling said. “I think you establish relationships in the community and that way you have a police department which is not just an extension of the community, it’s actually a piece of the community there within.”

However, he acknowledged there are challenges ahead such as the city’s explosive growth in recent decades, which he said brings with it a demand for more cops on the streets to combat crime.

“I think with the growth of our city, I think there is an opportunity for some of our citizens to be victimized, but we have to be vigilant in our patrols and our investigations to help combat that”

Prosecutors in the donut counties as well as officials with local police unions have made claims that crime in Indianapolis is surging and spreading into neighboring suburbs.

We asked Sterling if those claims are true or if he believes that will be an issue he’ll face.

“I don’t know how to answer that. I wouldn’t know quite yet you know if there’s any surges,” Sterling said. “I know it’s different in Hamilton County, but I wouldn’t say I noticed any surges.”

As he gets settled into his new job, Sterling said he knows the expectations for are high for himself and he feels the pressure to deliver.

“To be offered this position was humbling and the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. “I know a lot of people would like to be in the seat and I take that very seriously.”