Posing with Covington Police Chief Rob Nader, center, are, from left: current Sergeants Jim West, Rob Rose, and Jon Mangus (soon to be lieutenants), and current Detectives Greg Rogers, Justin Bradbury, and Jason McErlane (soon to be sergeants).
Chief calls promotions ‘easy choices’
COVINGTON, Ky. - Six Covington police officers were promoted tonight to fill vacancies created over the last few months by a series of retirements.
Three detectives were promoted to the rank of sergeant, and three sergeants were promoted to the rank of lieutenant by a couple of 5-0 votes of the Covington Board of Commissioners.
The six men were the top scorers on the promotional list after a battery of written and oral tests, with seniority factored in. And whereas Police Chief Rob Nader wasn’t required to recommend the highest scorers to the Commission, he said he was happy to do so.
“I was happy with the results of the Board of Examiners’ tests,” Nader said. “These were easy choices. These men are well-prepared for their roles and have performed extremely well in their current roles, which is a great prediction of future performance as well.”
The new lieutenants are:
- Sgt. Jim West, who has been with the Covington Police Department (CPD) for 19 years and a sergeant for two years. West has served as a bike patrol officer, field training officer, SWAT team member, and detective. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Mountain State University and Master’s degree in criminology from Florida State University. He served in the U.S. Army for 10 years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
- Sgt. Rob Rose, who has been with CPD for 20 years and a sergeant for eight years. Rose has served as a field training officer and a member of the SWAT team, Narcotics Unit, and Honor Guard. He currently is supervisor of the Traffic Unit, where he is a traffic reconstructionist and a member of the Kenton County Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team. He has over 30 years’ experience in the U.S. military, with six years in the Marine Corps and 24 years in the U.S. Army, where he is currently a first sergeant in the 159th Military Police Battalion, a Reserves unit.
- Sgt. Jon Mangus, who has been with CPD for 15 years and a sergeant for three years. Mangus has served as a field training officer, SWAT team member, Police Explorer coordinator, and a detective. He is currently supervisor of the Narcotics Unit. Mangus has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s degree in executive leadership and organizational change, both from Northern Kentucky University.
The new sergeants are:
- Detective Greg Rogers, who has been with CPD for 11 years. Rogers has served as a bike patrol officer, field training officer, police recruiter, and detective with the Housing Authority of Covington. Rogers has four years’ study in criminal justice at NKU.
- Detective Justin Bradbury, who has been with CPD for 15 years. Bradbury has served as a field training officer, rifle team member, U.S. Marshals Fugitives Task Force member, police recruiter, Police Academy and Police Explorer coordinator, social media officer, and - most recently - as a child crimes and major crimes detective. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wright State University.
- Detective Jason McErlane, who has been with CPD for 12 years. McErlane has served as a patrol officer for nine years and was assigned as property crimes detective three years ago. McErlane has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.
The promotions are effective March 1.
The Commission chambers was crowded with family, friends, and fellow officers tonight for the promotions. The five commissioners thanked the men and their families for their service and sacrifice, talked about the importance of Covington’s police force to residents’ quality of life, and praised the leadership of Chief Nader.
The six newly promoted officers then took turns stepping up to the mic, where they thanked the City’s leadership for the opportunity to serve at a higher level. But in particularly meaningful fashion, each singled out their family in the crowd and expressed thanks for the support of their wives, children and parents.
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