Those initial 17 are existing officers who will transfer from other jurisdictions and undergo a shortened training period. The balance, along with 13 new support staff to handle the extra work generated by the new patrol officers, will be on board about November.
“I’ve done this since 1991, the better part of three decades, and in my tenure here as a police officer, I have never seen an increase in staffing of this level in one shot,” Police Chief Mike Brown said Tuesday night as the Council put final touches on the package. “I haven’t seen this support for law enforcement and policing ever in my career.