To begin, I’d like to apologize for this report being a bit late. With that out of the way, the police department continues to struggle a bit with staffing issues. Overtime is up and I have been concerned about the officers working so much overtime to cover the available and open shifts. Officer Wetherbee was cleared for duty recently but the injury of another officer put us back in the same situation. Its unclear at this time how long Officer Herrera will be out with his recent injury. Officer Herrera suffered the injury while trying to apprehend a suspect who ran from police. He is doing well and recovering although it may be several months before he is cleared to return to full duty.

Officer Garrett Thornton continues to do very well in the academy. I am getting regular updates on his performance and he is representing our agency very well. He is scheduled to graduate in March of this year and will then continue his field training after graduation.

Lt. Shawn Burns is also dealing with a back injury and is not cleared for full duty at this time. There is no time table for his return as of right now. Lt. Burns is working in a light duty capacity with limited hours at this time.

On a more personal note, I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a happy new year.