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YPD adds 4 officers
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Youngstown Mayor John McNally, left, swears in four new members of the city police department Monday: Brandon Caraway of McDonald, left, Mark Sember of Howland, Jeffrey Savnik of Youngstown and Chase Lemke of Austintown.
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Of the four new police officers sworn onto the force Monday, three have previous experience, and the fourth served five years in the military.
Sworn in by Mayor John A. McNally were Brandon Caraway, 26, of McDonald; Mark Sember, 23, of Howland; Jeffrey Savnik, 27, of Youngstown; and Chase Lemke, 24, of Austintown.
Sember, Savnik and Lemke have previous experience, and Caraway served five years in the Marine Corps. Savnik also served in the Marines.
Chief Robin Lees said the four — and five others who will be sworn in shortly — are being added because of the number of officers who have retired in the past couple of years.
Additionally, when the new officers are trained, they will take the place of veteran officers who will be taken off regular patrol and assigned to a community police program the chief is started.
Staff Inspector Lt. Brian Butler said the four sworn in Monday will have six days of in-service training and will begin patrol duties with a field training officer early next week. After four months of being assigned an FTO on each of the department’s three turns, each the four will then be assigned a beat of his own.
Caraway said he wanted to join the force because he thinks of policing as serving, something he said will benefit from his Marine background.
“I’m going from serving the country to serving the city,” Caraway said.
Sember, who was a reserve officer at Austintown and part time at Bazetta, said he applied with Youngstown because it is a large department with opportunities to advance and serve on special units. He said his experiences in Austintown and Bazetta will serve him well.
“They gave me a good foundation,” Sember said.
Lemke served with Youngstown State University and part-time for Lowellville.
“I think my past experiences will help me with interacting with the public and different ways to deal with difficult situations,” Lemke said.
Savnik, who grew up on the South Side and served on the police force as a per diem at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, said serving on the city police force is a goal because he wants to work in the city where he grew up.
“It’s kind of an honor,” Savnik said.
All four, as well as the five others who will be added, took the civil-service entrance-level exam which was given in June, Butler said.
With the four officers sworn in Monday, the department has 106 officers in the patrol division.