MANSFIELD, Ohio – The ranks of the Mansfield Police Department grew by three Tuesday morning after a swearing in ceremony for Nolan Goodman, Freeman Nixon and Heath Underwood.
Safety-Service Director Lori Cope administered the oath to the three new officers, bringing the department to 83 officers.
Goodman, a 31-year-old Canadian native who previously worked at the police department in Oxford, Ohio, has lived in the Mansfield area for the past three years and says he has always had a passion for law enforcement.
“I’m glad I’m here and finally getting to live that dream — being able to help people, to always be there and to offer assistance,” Goodman said.
Twenty-four-year-old Nixon, a 2008 graduate of Mapleton High School in Ashland County, also has had a longtime desire to become an officer.
“I’ve always wanted to be a cop, to be in law enforcement or military. I started off working in corrections for three years, and I had an opportunity to take a test with them to move to the road, and I passed, and this is where I am now,” Nixon said.
Nixon said he’d like to stay in Mansfield for a long time and eventually work his way up to SWAT or a K-9 unit.
A 2009 Ontario High School graduate, Underwood got a Criminal Justice degree from Bluffton University and worked at the Richland County Jail for a year before becoming an officer.
“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do, to help people,” Underwood said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
The three officers now go to the Ohio Highway Patrol’s Academy, then return to Mansfield to begin 14 weeks of field training with veteran officers. They will be assigned to the Special Operation Bureau Professional Standards Section and will serve as Probationary Police Officers for a period of 12 months.
“We have high expectations for these three gentlemen,” Police Chief Ken Coontz said Tuesday during the ceremony. “It is a dangerous career. Anybody who can read or turn on a television, you understand that law enforcement is not the career of choice anymore and it takes a special person. So I commend all three of you gentlemen for stepping up and having that courage.”
A shortage of people stepping up to be officers is an issue that the city and the department continue to address.
“We, as the administration, are trying very hard to bring our counts up to an adequate number of 85. Every single time we seem to hire more, we have more retire,” Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker said.
“We’re definitely working toward improving our manpower,” Coontz added. “In fact, we’re hopeful that within the next 30 days, we’ll be standing in here one more time, hiring another guy.”
Coontz told those in attendance that the department had recently achieved re-accreditation with the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
“That means we have elevated ourselves as a department. As professionals we stand out among our peers. You may be surprised to know that we are in the elite 5 percent,” Coontz said.
“There are approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States. Only about 1,000 of them get accredited, and we are part of that 5 percent and are accredited in the United States for being able to show that we follow the national standards for conduct and professionalism and policies. And that’s something for every officer, in fact for every citizen and every family member to be proud of. “
Coontz concluded by reminding the new officers of what is expected from them.
“The big thing for us is how you treat the person that you’re helping on the side of the road that’s broke down — that family of kids and a husband and wife, However you’re treating those people while you’re helping them get back on the road is the same as you should be treating a person who you’re putting in handcuffs and sticking in the back of a car. And I think all three of you understand my expectations.”
