From left to right: Covington Police Chief Rob Nader, Jeffrey S. Tolliver, Steven E. Willis III, Kennedy R. Sizemore Jr., Ryan Wielgus, Michael Martinez, and Covington Mayor Joe Meyer.

New hires include military veterans, transfers from law enforcement agencies

COVINGTON, Ky. – Before Mayor Joe Meyer administered the oath of office to five new police officers today, he encouraged them to maintain the department’s tradition of excellence.

“Covington is one of three police departments in the state of Kentucky certified by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which is an external validation of the quality of our training, our policies, and the work that we do,” Meyer said. “We expect that you will carry on that tradition of excellence.”

Joined by their families, the five who were sworn in during a brief ceremony at Covington City Hall are:

• Michael Martinez will soon graduate from Northern Kentucky University in computer science and has worked in customer service and team management, as well as a tug driver for DHL logistics.
• Kennedy R. Sizemore Jr. is a graduate of Chatfield College and a U.S. Army veteran who served as a Senior Sniper.
• Jeffrey S. Tolliver is a Squad Leader and Platoon Sargent in the Army National Guard. He was a University of Cincinnati Health Public Safety Officer for 5½ years and a Special Deputy/Corrections Officer with the Butler County Sheriff in Hamilton, Ohio.
• Ryan Wielgus has a degree from WyoTech Automotive Technology and Management and served in the Kentucky National Guard. He implemented training for soldiers in resilience and stress management procedures. He has worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
• Steven E. Willis III has worked for 3½ years as a patrol officer with the Nicholasville Police Department and was certified by the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice. He is a member of the Kentucky National Guard.

Chief Rob Nader said he was thrilled to welcome the recruits into the Covington Police Department.

“We can’t wait for them to finish their training and get to work keeping Covington safe,” he said.

The department is authorized for 114 sworn officers, and this will raise Covington’s current contingent to 112.

However, Nader said the reality is the Covington is playing “catch up” on a staffing carousel that sees numbers in flux because of retirements, military deployments, and injuries. Plus, new hires must complete up to 40 weeks of training.

“This is preparing for the future,” Nader said. “We’re already short. What we’re doing now is preparing for the next year – we’re not even supplementing right now.”

It’s a numbers game, Nader said. He currently has six officers set to graduate from the police academy but three of the new officers sworn in on Monday will then leave for the academy.

“When we hire officers, it doesn’t mean they go to the street,” he said. “Even with those who were officers in other areas, they still go through 16 to 20 weeks of in-house training to make sure they know our streets, understand our policies, and our laws, especially if they come from a different state. So, it can be 40 weeks of training before they’re actually on the street. I don’t think most people realize that.”

Nader said he has six officers who will retire by August.

“So, even at 112, we will soon be back down to 106,” he said.

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