‘The best of everything’: Washington City Police Department introduces 4 new officers

WASHINGTON CITY — In last week’s city council meeting, Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams called four of his employees to face the panel of city leaders.

Washington City Police Department, Washington City, Utah, March 21, 2023 | Photo by Vin Cappiello, St. George News

On May 10, family, friends and fellow law enforcement were also present to watch Dan Hayes, Kaleb Montez, Alex Piedra and Dallan Tanner take the oath and officially become police officers for the city.

Hayes brings previous experience working at Hurricane’s Police Department and recently earned a degree from Utah Tech University. The addition of Montez added another military veteran to the force, Mayor Kress Staheli said.

Piedra and Tanner should be familiar to city employees due to their previous work in code enforcement.

“The other two we already know,” Staheli told the council. “They just get better uniforms … We understand some of the best officers we’ve had come up through code enforcement. I appreciate all of you guys.”

After taking an oath to protect the citizens of Washington City, Williams told the council Montez’ uniform pin differed from the others.

“Kaleb will be pinned with a veteran badge to represent his service in the military,” he noted while handing them to the officers.

A police vehicle is shown in Washington, Utah in this undated file photo | Photo courtesy of Washington City Police Department, St. George News

Put on the spot, the rookies were fearless as they faced civic leaders and told stories of why they chose law enforcement as a profession.

Tanner, the most soft spoken, gave some advice to the others about what he has learned during his two years of employment with the city.

“Be willing to learn, for sure,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing — everyone does things different. So if you learn from everyone, you’ll get the best of everything.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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