At today’s swearing in, from left to right: Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti, Wade Webster, William Gonzales, Maxwell Brinkley, and Covington Mayor Joe Meyer.

New hires: two with experience, criminal justice graduate

COVINGTON, Ky. – Mayor Joe Meyer administered the oath of office to three new police officers today and stressed the Police Department’s tradition of a strong relationship with the people it serves.

“The success of our Police Department has always been good community relations. We understand our community,” said Meyer. “We always try to solve problems and help people out.”

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

• William Gonzales comes from the Lexington Police Department in Lexington, Kentucky, where he has been a police officer since 2021. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and a graduate of North Carolina Wesleyan College. Gonzales is a Covington native.
• Wade Webster has worked as a police officer with the Newport News Police Department in Newport News, Va., since 2018. He is a graduate of Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia.
• Maxwell Brinkley has a degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Organizational Leadership from Northern Kentucky University. He has worked as a financial associate with Fidelity Investments.

Chief Brian Valenti said he was thrilled to welcome the recruits.

“It’s great that we are getting these officers, and that two are coming with experience,” said Valenti. “Two of these officers come from larger departments that are successful agencies, and that’s experience that we value a lot because we deal with things that a lot of larger departments have to deal with, being in the urban core.”

For Gonzales, coming home to serve in the city where he grew up matters.

“It means the world to me,” said Gonzales, “It’s good to be back home.”

Brinkley said he’s “proud” to have the opportunity to help others: “To me it means everything, giving back to the people here.”

Gonzales and Webb, having previous experience as officers, will go straight to the department’s FTO (Field Training Officer) training and will be out on the street fairly quickly. Valenti said Brinkley, whose lifelong dream was to become a police officer, will leave for the Kentucky State Police Academy in Richmond in July.

# # #