YPD adds three new chaplains


By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Three ministers were sworn in Friday as chaplains for the city police department.

The three who took the oath from Mayor John A. McNally in city council chambers are Pastor Rafael Cruz Jr. of Unity Baptist Church, the Rev. Jeffrey Street of the Summit Church in McDonald and the Rev. Michael Write of Christ Centered Church.

They are the first chaplains added to the corps since 2007.

Police Chief Robin Lees said the chaplain program began in 1998 at the department. He said they will ride with officers and give counsel to them and also will be utilized if they are needed to help with a death notification or some other type of catastrophic situation.

With the three added Friday, the department now has 17 chaplains, all of whom are volunteers.

Lees said the chaplains received 40 hours of training with all branches of the department so they can understand what kinds of jobs the department does.

“They showed an interest and a passion to serve,” Lees said.

McNally thanked the three for signing up and also the current chaplains who work with the department. He said members of the city’s faith community are one of the main reasons the city has seen a declining crime rate in recent years.

Pastor Cruz said he decided to join because because he always has prayed for police officers. He said he likes the aspect of getting out in the community because it will mesh well with his street ministry that he has been involved for 18 years.

“It just seemed a natural fit for me,” Cruz said.

The Rev. Mr. Street said he decided to become a part of the program because he has always had desire to help out police.

“This is what the Lord had in mind for me,” he said.

The Rev. Mr. Write served as a chaplain with the original corps from 1998 to 2012. He said he wanted to come back, and one of the most important lessons he learned the first time was how a chaplain can be a calming influence on people when police are at crime scenes.

“That’s a big part of it. To keep things calm at a scene,” Mr. Write said.

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