| Wanted: Local officers | | Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 10:00 pm
| By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
HELP WANTED: Certi-fied police officers.
Obion County is in need of at least five certified law enforcement officers.
Local law enforcement agencies — the Union City Police Department, Obion County Sheriff’s Department and the Obion Police Department — are all looking to hire certified police officers.
The Obion Police Depart-ment has been advertising for a vacancy in its police department for several weeks. Currently, the police department is being operated by Police Chief Royce Aker and patrolmen Jimmy Wilson and Tim Clark. Clark is the latest officer hired by the Obion Police Department and he was hired in May 2011.
An Obion city official told The Messenger about 10 applications have been received so far for the position. The police department vacancy is expected to come up during the Obion City Council’s Feb. 20 or March 5 meeting.
In Union City, Police Chief Joe Garner said he is looking to fill four vacancies in his department’s patrol division.
The job openings have been posted at City Hall and those interested in applying for one of the positions can pick up an application there. There is a Feb. 8 deadline to turn the applications in to City Hall, after which all the applications will be screened by Garner.
He said he will first consider all certified applicants for the four vacancies. Garner said if he isn’t able to come up with four certified applicants from that pool, he will reopen the application process and will consider non-certified applicants.
All applicants for the vacancies will have to go through a testing process and will be interviewed, according to Garner.
At the Obion County Sheriff’s Department, there are three vacancies in the patrol division, according to Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder.
He told The Messenger today only two of the positions are going to be filled, because of the economy.
Another vacancy in the courthouse security detail will be filled through an internal transfer, according to the sheriff.
The three local law enforcement agencies are seeking graduates of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in Nashville. The Nashville academy operates a 10-week program that addresses all areas of law enforcement, including firearms training, combat training, emergency vehicle operation and state criminal law. Graduates of the academy are certified through the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.
Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 1.31.12 | | | | |
