City welcomes five new officers
Published 6:55 pm Saturday, November 2, 2013
Department additions: Brian Harris, Justin Freine, Fred Griffin, Broderick Givan and Michael Kiser are the newest additions to the Selma Police Department.
Selma residents may soon notice some new faces patrolling the city’s streets.
The Selma Police Department recently introduced five new police officers, giving the department increased capabilities to add and fill patrols.
Riley said more police officers allow his department to operate smoothly and combat crime effectively.
“Right now we are behind the eight ball,” he said. “I would like to shift to being more proactive. Right now we are on the reactive side.”
Two of the five will graduate from the police academy Nov. 14. The other three officers are going through initial training and will start at the police academy in January.
Brian Harris, one of the new officers, said being a police officer was a childhood dream.
“It’s all about serving and protecting for me,” Harris said. “It has always been something I wanted to do.”
Police officer Michael Kiser said he chose law enforcement for a different reason.
“For me it’s about making a difference in my community,” Kiser said.
The other three officers are Justin Freine, Fred Griffin and Broderick Givan.
Riley isn’t planning to stop with five new officers. On Oct. 30, 16 additional candidates took a written test to become police officers. After passing the written test, candidates will need to pass a background check.
“The ones taking the test already have the physical agility part done and once you pass the test, that’s another huge chunk,” Riley said. “Things are looking very promising.”
Riley’s ideal number of police officers is 60, and with 16 officers being tested, the department could reach his goal number soon.
“More officers would give us an opportunity to do some community policing and maybe more investigative work,” he said. “When you get to that mark, it lets us stay in the overtime budget. Our officers also have families; if they are always working, they are missing those important times.”
Each officer is assigned to a different division within the police department. With increased numbers, Riley said the department’s traffic division is one area he would like to bolster.
