By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend Police Department continues to look to bulk up its staff
as more officers were welcomed by the Great Bend City Council Monday night.
Police Chief Steve Haulmark introduced three recent hires that are training to
become officers.
"Officer Nick Reed just graduated from the academy last Friday," said Haulmark. "Officers Eric Jones and Christian Rivas are currently field training officers and they'll be going to the academy Nov. 1 to start their training."
Nicholas Reed, Christian Rivas and Eric Jones are three of the six new officers
hired since January 2021. The other three are currently attending the Kansas
Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) near Hutchinson and will be formally
introduced to the city council when they return.
"All three of these gentlemen come to us highly recommended," said Haulmark. "I'm very impressed with all of them and think they'll do a great job for the city."
The KLETC trains the majority of municipal, county and state law enforcement
officers in Kansas. About 300 officers enroll annually in the organization’s
14-week basic training programs that train officers to solve problems they will
face in the line of duty.
Between the course at KLETC and internal training within the department, it
takes approximately 28-32 weeks to train a new officer before they are allowed
to take calls on their own with the Great Bend Police Department.