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MANTENO – Manteno Chief of Police Alan Swinford has been working the past two years or so to get his department up to full force.
Mission accomplished.
Swinford reported at Monday’s Village Board meeting that his department now has 26 police officers with the recent swearing-in of Jared Walters, of Manteno, on April 30. Walters left Monday for the Police Training Institute in Springfield for a 16-week training program.
“We’re very excited to get him,” Swinford said. “He just started the academy [Monday]. Typically, we would swear officers in at the board meetings, but our last two officers started the academy the day of the board meeting. At some point, we will get him in here to get him sworn in so the family can attend.”
Swinford said Walters was sworn in at village hall to make his hiring official. Walters is a military veteran and had been working as a union laborer.
Two officers, Benjamin Elzinga and Angellyn Hurtado, just completed their training at the PTI and are now going through 12 weeks of field training within the department.
“They’ll be riding along, training with other officers and hopefully be on their own soon,” Swinford said. “So, with these three, we actually are fully staffed at this point, which has been a long time coming. We’ve been short for a long time, so [we’re] excited to get all three of them.”
New fire chief
Mayor Annette LaMore reported at Monday’s meeting that Richard Petersen is the new fire chief for the Manteno Fire Protection District, which is a separate government entity. Petersen was appointed by the district’s board of trustees, effective May 1.
Petersen, a former battalion chief, replaces Scott O’Brien, who retired after 23 years of service to the Manteno Fire Protection District. O’Brien had been fire chief since 2008.
In a letter from the chief on the district’s website, O’Brien wrote the following: “Serving as fire chief has been the greatest honor of my career. I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished, and I have full confidence that Chief Petersen will continue to lead the department with dedication and a commitment to excellence.”
Petersen has served as battalion chief since 2017 and has 27 years of fire service experience, according to the letter.
“I am honored to step into this role and continue serving our community,” Petersen said in the letter. “Chief O’Brien has built a strong foundation, and I look forward to working alongside our dedicated team to advance our mission of providing the highest professional emergency services for the preservation of life and property.”
Village trustees unanimously approved Petersen as chief of the Manteno fire district.