New El Paso County Deputies graduate, get ready for job at the jail

Twenty men and women took their final steps to become El Paso County’s newest deputies.

Inside the Centennial Hall, the graduates were handed a badge by El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder and took an oath to protect and serve our community.

Joshua Droge, a new deputy said, “I live here so it’s what I know and it’s what I can do.”

They’ve completed an eight-week training specific to their day-to-day jobs; detention deputies. This graduation class is the first set of people who did not go through a Peace Officer Standard Training (POST). The deputies were taught how to specifically and more efficiently work in a jail.

Aaron Andreas said, “I’m excited to get out there and see what the job entails.”

This comes at a time where the El Paso County Jail is sitting near capacity. Last month, the female wards hit an all-time high with 364 women staying overnight.

Sheriff Elder said at today’s ceremony, “we’re trying to ramp up to cover the increased need in the jail, so we’re getting. This is going to be a step in the right direction and I’m excited for where we’re headed.”

In the crowd, families filled almost every seat inside the hall. Many of them cheered as they watched their loved one receive a badge from Sheriff Elder.

It was followed by an oath where each new addition promised to protect and serve the community, no matter where their law enforcement career took them.