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YPD swears in five new officers
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The five police officers sworn in Friday during a ceremony in city council chambers will be joined by six more shortly, said Chief Robin Lees.
The five – Matthew Simon, 32, of Boardman; Luis Villaplana, 25, of Youngstown; Christopher Weibel, 27, of Austintown; Elmer Gonzalez, 28, of Youngstown; and Michael Saverko, 25, of Youngstown – were sworn in by Mayor John McNally during a brief ceremony.
Also Friday, Josh Kelly, who has served as a patrolman since 1997, was promoted to detective sergeant and also sworn into his new position by the mayor. Kelly, one of the department’s police-dog handlers, will now transfer to midnight turn, where he will be a supervisor. His dog, Gustav, or “Goose,” will make the move with him and continue to be his partner.
Lees said the five new hires Friday give the department 154 officers, but he wants at least 160. He expects the next batch to be sworn in sometime over the next couple of months. The department’s ranks were depleted because of a wave of retirements over the past couple of years.
Of the new hires, Simon may have the most nerves of steel even though he never has been a police officer. He served in bomb disposal units overseas as part of the War on Terror and is a member of the West Virginia Army National Guard.
“I definitely have a lot of calm nerves,” Simon said.
Simon said he wanted to be a police officer because he wanted to continue serving. He said one thing his military and police training have in common is how to treat others.
“Treat people with a lot of respect, and you will get a lot of information out of them,” Simon said.
Weibel, who served as a McDonald police officer for three years, said he wanted to work in a bigger city.
“You get to get involved with a lot of different people,” Weibel said.
Villaplana said he was fulfilling a childhood dream by becoming a police officer.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Vilaplana said.
Gonzalez said he wanted to serve his hometown.
“I’ve always wanted to be an officer here,” Gonzalez said.
Saverko has served previously as a Hubbard police officer and said he also is motivated by the desire to serve.
“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community,” Saverko said.
The officers began in-service training Friday and will continue that training through most of next week. After their in-service training, each officer will be assigned a training officer for several months until they are assigned their own beat.