At its board of commissioners’ meeting on June 20, Ross Township announced the hiring of five new police officers: Joshua Hartle, Andrew Notbohm, Matt Perkins, Scott Moore and Ronald Redman.
“We’re excited to hire five new officers and welcome them into the township,” Ross police Chief Cristyn Zett said. “They’re in training right now. They’ll be in field training with more senior officers for the next few months and they’ll be out answering calls on their own after that.”
Zett added the hirings were necessary because several of the township’s police officers have retired over the last two years.
“And, we have some people who are planning to retire over the next year or two so we want to make sure that we are getting new people in before we go any shorter,” Zett said. “We started the process in January of this year and this is the first hire from that process.”
Zett said to be eligible to serve as a police officer in Ross, a candidate must already be certified by the Municipal Police Officer Training and Education Commission after attending one of the area police academies. After that, the process includes a written test, physical fitness test and an oral interview, followed by a background check.
Zett said that while there are always concerns about having the staffing to deal with violent crimes, there are other responsibilities that need to be addressed as well.
Ross Township manager Ron Borczyk said the hiring of new officers is a significant development.
“This action illustrates the commitment of Ross Township to provide a safe community for our residents and business owners, as we fill in the recent attrition of the department,” Borczyk said.
Paul Guggenheimer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pguggenheimer@triblive.com.