The Mansfield Police Department added another officer to its force on Thursday afternoon with the swearing-in ceremony of 25-year-old Justin Cikity.
Cikity hails from Uniontown, Ohio – approximately 70 miles east of Mansfield – and comes from a firefighting background. After working as a firefighter and paramedic for six years in Uniontown, he was ready for a change.
“I’m excited to start something new,” said Cikity. “I’m about an hour away from home, having a fresh start not knowing anybody here and meeting new people.”
With Cikity officially sworn in, this brings the Mansfield Police Department up to 79 officers. Chief Kenneth Coontz said the department is in transition as it slowly replenishes its ranks.
“Our manpower levels are very depleted, our authorized strength is 102 and with [Cikity] we’re just now getting up to 79, and we need more,” said Coontz. “If you want to impact crime and impact the community you’ve got to have more police officers, that’s all there is to it.”
Coontz explained Cikity will go through a 12-month probationary period as the department evaluates his performance. He will attend the Highway Patrol Academy starting next month, and then be assigned to the Special Operation Bureau as a patrol officer.
“We’re very proud and very happy to have Justin here and give him this opportunity, and I’m sure Justin is equally excited to join the forces and the brotherhood of the Mansfield Police Department,” said Coontz. “He’s very capable, we have a lot of faith and high expectations of Justin and I think he’ll be able to meet those needs.”
Cikity said he was hooked on the idea of joining the Mansfield Police Department after riding along with an officer back in October 2014.
“It’s not a routine job,” he said. “I like staying on my toes.”
