The City of Buckeye posted pictures of four new police officers today.
“Join us in welcoming four new officers to the team,” the post states on Social media.
The officers are identified as Officer Garcia-Lopez, Officer Melton, Officer Figueroa and Officer Murel.
The four new officers bring to toal 143 officers as part of the Buckeye Police Department, which "fills officer vacancies as they are approved through the city’s budget process," according to a statement from the department.
"The Buckeye Police Department continues to increase staffing to keep pace with our growing community," said department spokeswoman Carissa Planalp.
"The four officers highlighted in the post are lateral officers," Planap said. "That means they came to us with prior law enforcement experience and are already certified peace officers. New lateral officers go through an internal onboarding process where they are familiarized with Buckeye police policies, procedures and equipment."
Hiring these certified peace officers is different than hiring recruit officers, Planalp said. Police recruits must complete law enforcement academy to become certified peace officers, a process that takes about six months and is paid for by the city.
All four come to the Buckeye Police Department with prior law enforcement experience “and are eager to serve our great community.”
