Perry Mayor John Andorf (left) swears in the City's newest police officers: (from left to right) Micaela Zagar, Nathan Heath, and Brandon Biere

The Perry Police Department, like others around the state, has had to adjust the way they’ve done many things due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One process in particular that had to be altered was the training of new officers.

In October, Nathan Heath and Micaela Zagar joined the force as uncertified officers, which meant they needed to attend the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy before they could work solo shifts. However, Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn says the viral outbreak threw a wrench into the works. “We had two officers that were in the academy when this kind of started, and shortly after the Governor’s proclamation they closed the academy. So our officers came home just about a month ago. They started doing academy classes online, and then we also did some small group practical exercises. So we used different instructors that were available to us from our department and from the County, from Waukee Police Department, and some other departments to help finish up their training.”

Vaughn says Heath and Zagar are now certified officers, which he adds has been invaluable to the department given all the activity this past week. To learn more about this and other Perry Police Department topics, click the link below to listen to the recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Vaughn.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/04/17/lets-talk-dallas-county-4-17-2020-eric-vaughn/