Erie police boost ranks with 9 new officers
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Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny told a crowd gathered in Erie City Hall Monday morning that the city police force will now be able to do a little more to protect the community and its citizens.
Making that possible, Spizarny said, was the hiring of nine new officers.
The nine new hires, were sworn in by Mayor Joe Schember before a standing-room-only audience of family, friends and city/police officials in the Bagnoni Council Chambers.
The hirings boost the Erie Bureau of Police’s complement, which had been 174, to 183 officers. Their hiring marks the first time in more than 15 years that the bureau has added more officers, and not just filled open positions, Spizarny said.
“The department will be able to do a little bit more than we’ve done in the past,” the chief said.
That additional work will initially focus on dedicating a number of officers to focus on juveniles, he said, because Erie has seen “some unprecedented juvenile crime,” referencing the recent spate of gun violence involving young suspects and victims.
Sworn in on Monday were:
- William P. Barber, 30. Originally from Westfield, New York, Barber earned a criminal justice degree from SUNY Fredonia. He previously worked for the LECOM, UPMC, Cambridge Springs, North East and Meadville police departments.
- Terrance M. Dawdy, 29. Dawdy is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh-Greenville with a criminal justice degree and a minor in psychology. He most recently served on the Meadville Police Department.
- Destiny L. Glass, 25. A Union City native, Glass served six years in the National Guard. She previously worked as an Erie County sheriff’s deputy.
- Rebecca A. Gross, 23. Gross graduated from the Mercyhurst Municipal Police Academy on Thursday.
- Alex S. Miller, 23. Originally from Canonsburg, Miller serves in the U.S. Army Reserves and previously served on the LECOM and UPMC police departments.
- Joshua M. Nelson, 29. A Conneautville native, Nelson graduated from the Mercyhurst Municipal Police Academy on Thursday. He currently serves in the National Guard.
- Ryan S. Oakley, 32. Oakley earned a criminal justice degree with a minor in psychology from Edinboro University. He previously served on the Edinboro University Police Department.
- Tyshawn A. Parker, 42. Parker is a Rochester, New York, native who earned a degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He is a 2021 graduate of the Mercyhurst Municipal Police Academy who previously served on the Mercyhurst University and Erie School District police departments.
- Luigi J. Yates, 22. Yates earned a degree in criminal justice from Gannon University and graduated from the Mercyhurst Municipal Police Academy on Thursday.
The group represents one of the more diverse hires on the city police force in recent memory, as two of the new hires are Black males and two are white females.
The bureau is now comprised of 160 white males, 10 Black males, nine white females and four Hispanic males.
Parker said he understands the impact a compassionate, community-minded member of law enforcement can make in a young person’s life.
As a teenager growing up in Rochester, N.Y., Parker was mentored by a police officer in that city through a program similar to Erie’s Police Athletic League, which aims to build stronger relationships between police and the city’s youth through sports and other activities.
“I was 14, and I think it just pushed me to get involved with the community,” Parker said. Parker is one of two Black officers in the new police class, which also includes two women.
The officer who impacted Parker’s life in Rochester “brought me in, showed me opportunities and talked to me about the things I could be doing. I was impressionable at that age and making some decisions I shouldn’t have been making. But this officer definitely changed my path.
“Now I have a criminal justice degree and I’m excited to work with the kids and get involved in the community. I think it’s important for all kids to see someone who looks like them in these jobs.”
Glass said she pursued a policing job in Erie “because I just really want to give back to the community and help Erie, and give back to the PAL program. I also want to be one of those people who has their (fellow) officer’s backs.”
The new officers are the second batch to be hired this year, following the hiring in February of nine officers to fill vacancies in the bureau.
But they are the first of what city police hope are 21 new positions added to the Erie Bureau of Police.
Erie City Council in December unanimously approved a Schember administration plan to use $14.5 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding to hire up to 21 additional officers.
Police brass requested the additional officers to enable the bureau to reinstate its juvenile crime detective unit, in response to the rise in juvenile-related crime; to bring back its Crisis Unit, to work with social service and mental health agencies on calls involving mental health and domestic issues and the city’s homeless population; and to add officers to its Neighborhood Action Team and Police Athletic League.
Earlier this month, following a lengthy public debate, council approved hiring the officers who were sworn in on Monday. But on a narrow vote, council also approved a resolution, sponsored by Councilman Chuck Nelson, stipulating that, by Jan. 1, 2024, the city police bureau’s complement could not exceed 175 members.
Council OKs police hires, sets limitsAfter more than three hours of often scorching public debate, Erie City Council signed off on hiring nine new police
If the city does not see enough police retirements or other employee departures by 2024, many of the nine probationary officers approved on Wednesday night could be laid off because of a lack of seniority.
Nelson also wants the bulk of that $14.5 million redirected to other programs/initiatives. He has called the city’s police bureau “overfunded” and points out that the Erie Bureau of Police, budgeted at $39.6 million for 2022, already accounts for nearly 40% of the city’s budget.As he watched the officers take pictures with family members after Monday’s swearing-in, Nelson said he is not anti-police.
However, he opposes using city tax dollars for the bulk of police funding.
“ARP money is a terrible thing to be using for police, especially for a short-term plan,” Nelson said. ”If they want to have someone else pay for additional police other than our taxpayers, if they can get federal and state funding particular to police, then we can look at the complement and they can have as many police officers as they want.”
Schember has said he is not giving up on the ARP-funded policing plan, and that his administration plans to re-launch the juvenile unit as soon as September.
That unit was disbanded in 2005 because of city budget woes.
Mayor:Schember not willing to give up on $14.5 million policing proposal
“We really need this plan, and I’m excited to have these nine officers on board so we can start some of that work,” Schember said.
Parker, who attended the June 15 City Council meeting, said he’s not concerned about the politics impacting the policing plan.
“The only thing I can do is show and prove in this job to show that we were needed and that we’re necessary,” Parker said.
Glass added: “They say eight to 10 police officers retire every year. So hopefully we will still be here in two years.”
Contact Kevin Flowers at kf******@ti*******.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.
Contact Tim Hahn at th***@ti*******.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
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