The Jefferson Police Department recently gained a new officer.

Andrew Chapman was born and raised in Greene County and is a 2006 Jefferson-Scranton graduate. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Northern Iowa in 2009. He also served in the Iowa National Guard from 2008 to 2016. For the last ten years, he worked in the security services department of Microsoft in Des Moines. While family brought he and his wife Amanda and their two young children back to Jefferson, he describes other reasons why he wanted to come back.

“Being able to give back to a community that helped instill values in both of us was probably one of the bigger reasons. We like to see the growth and all the new stuff that’s happened in Jefferson over the last ten years. We’d like to be a part of that and raise our family in the same type of environment.”

The Jefferson City Council met in special session on Friday to approve the new hire. Police Chief Mark Clouse said Chapman will go the short academy at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy next fall to become a certified officer. His starting salary is $41,516 and his start date is December 28th. His brother Nathanael is the Greene County Chief Deputy. Along with his wife Amanda, they have two kids: Carson who is 2 ½ years-old and Rory who is less than one month old.