MANSFIELD – It was a sticky matter hiring the three newest additions to the Mansfield Division of Police.
Codey Ratliff, Brandon Gaunt and Cole Applegate all earned their badges after being sworn in Monday afternoon at Mansfield City Council Chambers. The three bring different backgrounds and experiences to their roles. The uniting factor, however, is their passion for the law.
“I get to sit in on the interviews with the chief and the HR director, and I can assure you that these gentlemen take the theft of a five-cent bubblegum very seriously,” said Mansfield Safety Director and former Mansfield Police Chief Keith Porch.
“We had a good debate for about 20 minutes back and forth over some bubble gum, and I was impressed with the conversation, which was also entertaining for me.”
The new officers range in experience from a decade to just one year.
Gaunt, a Columbus native, is the most experienced. He’s served for 10 years, most recently at Shawnee Hills, with stops in Delaware County and Columbus along the way.
Ratliff follows Gaunt in experience, with seven years of experience in Canton’s Police Department.
“Working in Canton, you get a lot of street experience, so I’m taking that with me,” Ratliff said. “I come straight from the detective bureau … working every case from a theft all the way up to a homicide.
“So I bring a lot of investigative experience with me too. (But) I’m excited to go back to patrol. That’s where my heart is. Patrol’s been my schtick for my entire career.”
Applegate comes in after just one year at Monroe County’s Sheriff’s Office. It’s a homecoming for Applegate, who comes from Mansfield and has family in the police department.
His brother-in-law, Officer Raymond Reedy IV, has served with the Mansfield Police Department for five years.
“That led me forward to working for the city of Mansfield as well, and following in his footsteps,” Applegate said. “(I’m excited) to work in the community I grew up in, and hopefully make it a better community.”
The three hires are part of the department’s lateral transfer process.
It hasn’t always worked out for the department, Police Chief Jason Bammann said, but there are high hopes for the new inductees.
“Several years back, we added a lateral process to our hiring. I can honestly say it hasn’t met our expectations … 100 percent of the time,” Bammann said. “Today, we hit a home run with it.”
