Reid Health swears in 4 more police officers
RICHMOND, Ind. Sept 15 2020— Reid Health’s growing police department now has four additional newly sworn officers.
That makes nine sworn police officers in the Reid Health Police Department.
Sgt. Brian Jackson, Sgt. Brian Bolin, Officer Mike Hurst and Officer Ryan Gerber took their oaths last week during a swearing in ceremony led by Craig Kinyon, the president and chief executive officer of Reid Health, according to a news release.
They are the first members of Reid’s existing security staff who do not have previous law enforcement experience to be sworn in as officers. They will attend eight weeks of training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy beginning in October, according to the release.
Kolentus, a former Richmond Police Department officer, was among the first four Reid officers who took their oaths Feb. 27. Assistant Chief Jeff Cappa, Capt. Dennis Perkins and Officer Steve Smith also were sworn in that day, and they all had previously served as sworn law enforcement officers and had completed Indiana Law Enforcement Academy training. Officer Jeff Glover, another trained officer, was then added to the department in early March, according to the release.
Reid expects its police department to become the third largest in Wayne County after a transition that could take three years. Increased training and certification are necessary to transition the 23-member security team at Reid’s Richmond and Connersville locations into a police department.
The Reid Health Governing Board on Jan. 27 approved establishing a police department. A 2013 state statute set the groundwork for hospital police departments.
“This change was the right move at the right time,” Jennifer Ehlers, a vice president and chief quality officer for Reid, said in the release. “We can never let up on our efforts to make and keep all our facilities as safe as possible for the thousands of people we serve each day.”
Reid’s police officers will have the authority to make arrests, which enables them to deal more effectively with violent incidents, according to the release. Kolentus said violence against care providers has increased, including incidents in which employees have been injured while providing patient care.
“We are taking all the steps necessary to protect our patients, their families and our team members,” Kolentus said.
As the Reid Health system has grown, the security staff has grown from nine members in 2016 to the current 23 members who staff the hospital around the clock, according to the release. Reid’s security officers were first armed in 2013.
