Pueblo hiring police officers
Pueblo police are looking for a few good men and women to join the department.
Applications are being accepted for patrol officers. The starting annual salary is $42,110.
City Manager Sam Azad said he wants to start another academy later this year for at least eight to 10 recruits. Six recruits are currently going through the police academy and will be out on patrol this summer.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 rode along with Officer Jackie Herrera to find out what interested candidates should know about her career.
Herrera said she never could have foreseen the effect some calls have had on her nearly 15 years after joining the department.
“Some of them just leave some memories in your head that you wish maybe somebody could take them away,” Herrera said. “I think going on the child crimes are the worst. You have a lot of crimes against children. Sex assaults on children.”
Even though the number of calls is going up, the number of officers isn’t. The city has a hiring freeze on 14 officer positions.
“It’s become a lot more dangerous,” she said. “Every day it’s a pretty urgent call that puts all of our officers in danger. And that’s why we just need a lot more officers and a lot more courageous and ambitious people to come on.”
On Monday, for instance, Herrera was called in to be a crisis negotiator during a standoff that ended peacefully. But despite the risks, she said there’s nothing else she’d rather do.
“I want to know when I’ve gone home for the day I’ve made some kind of an impact on our society. And hopefully made somebody’s day better,” she said.
The deadline to apply is March 1. For more information, visit: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/pueblo/default.cfm
