The Winamac Police Department will soon be adding two new officers. The town council voted last week to offer the two vacant full-time positions to Andrew Speer and Aaron J. Zimmerman.
Both of them currently work as jailers at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, according to Winamac Police Chief Mike Buchanan. “All full-time members of the department were present and we conducted interviews, and of those six interviews, we came down to two subjects out of those six interviews that we felt would be an asset to the Winamac Police Department,” Buchanan told council members.
Buchanan said neither has been through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, but one has completed the 40-hour pre-basic course and serves as a Sheriff’s Department reserve. Both of them currently live outside of the county but are willing to move to Winamac.
The Winamac Town Council also continues working to find a permanent police chief. Buchanan came out of retirement last year, and while he’s willing to stay for a few more months, he doesn’t want the job permanently.
The fact that the council members chose to fill both full-time vacancies indicates that they plan to promote one of the town’s current officers. Buchanan told the council he’d be comfortable with that. The town council hopes to schedule interviews later this month.
