Montrose, CO — The Montrose Police Department officially welcomed three new police officers to its ranks Monday, backfilling a number of vacant positions in the department. Officers Joseph Adkin, Zebediah Schoemaker, and Benedict Willey were officially sworn in during a virtual ceremony held on the city campus.
Police Chief Blaine Hall, along with Commander Tim Cox, hosted the ceremony in the Centennial Room before a live, online audience.
"This really is one of the most special things we get to do," Hall said of the ceremony.
Displayed on a large screen at the back of the room, members of the City Council, city staff, fellow Montrose police officers, and friends and family looked on through the online Zoom platform as the three new law enforcement officers recited their oath to join the department.
Each officer is a recent graduate of the Western Colorado Peace Officer Academy, WCPOA, hosted through Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. Hall said the new officers were backfilling a number of open positions in the department.
Hall told each officer, before officially swearing them in, to hold themselves to the highest personal standards both on and off duty. Their job as police officers, Hall said, was to earn and uphold the trust of the citizens of Montrose while protecting their lives, their property, and the community itself.
Each officer had friends and family present, participating in socially distant ways, to observe as a badge was pinned on each officer’s uniform.
Following the ceremony, the officers were dismissed to begin additional training within Police Department headquarters.
Information about future department recruitment and hiring will be released as it becomes available.
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